Becker's Bunch
by Squabble
Summary: OC SUBMISSION STORY -CLOSED- You're finally out of boring boot camp and working at London's finest monster busting facility. Submit your soldier to work at the ARC under Captain Becker.
1. Captain Becker

Eighteen men and women stood in two neat rows, their eyes glued to him. Backs straight, heads held high... They were all hand chosen by Becker himself. He assessed the group carefully once more before speaking.

"As you know, I am Captain Becker, your superior here at the ARC. The ARC; The Anomaly Research Center. We deal with one of the most strangest, yet most deadly occurrences on our planet. Anomalies. Rifts through time that allow creatures from the past and or future to enter into our own time. It also works vice versa but I hope it will never have to come to that." Becker thought about Danny, Connor and Abby, how they were stuck in the past because he had let them go through an anomaly. He was glad they were back. Well at least two of them.

Becker continued. "Your job here are to protect the ARC's core team. Matt Anderson, Connor Temple, and Abigail Maitland. If any of the creatures go out of control or manage to escape, it is your job to detain it. Killing it is only for last resort. Understood?"

There was a chorus of 'yes sirs'. He nodded in satisfaction. "The core ARC team, including me, are always on call, though they usually work in the day. That is why half of you will be joining the night crew and the other half will work in the day."

The rookie's glanced at each other nervously before looking back at the Captain. Becker elbowed one of the two men standing on each side of him who handed him a small square of paper.

"Let's get started. Listen carefully for your name. Those working during the day are: Corporal Richards, Lieutenant Lovell, Lieutenant Toxic, Second Lieutenant McKay, Lance Corporal Darcy, Lieutenant Harrison, Private Solomarn, Sergeant Regozani, and Lieutenant Johnson." Before anyone could begin talking he started again. "Those working at night are: Corporal Kane, Lieutenant Meadows, Corporal Novak, Lieutenant Chase, Sergeant Clemings, Lance Corporal Carsons, Lieutenant Mackenzie, Lieutenant Smith, and Sergeant Mattison."

Becker repeated the list of names once more before tucking the slip of paper in his back pocket. "I hope you realize that this is a risky job, but I am confident in all of your abilities."

The man that had given Becker the paper looked down and muttered something that sounded like "Lies,".

Ignoring him, Becker gestured to the other man standing beside him. "This is Second Lieutenant Caspar. Your rank may be higher than his but you still have to respect him." Now he gestured to the taller blond on the other side. "Lieutenant Keevers. Again, respect him because he is my second in command."

"It's Holland, to my friends and my minions. Pretty much everyone." Holland added.

"Those in the night group will be under the command of Caspar when I'm not around. Those in the day group, I am sorry but you are under the command of Holland." Becker ignored the rather rude retort that was whispered to him from Holland and continued. "There will be a training day next Tuesday. What you will be doing on that day will be chosen by whoever is in command of your group. Now the week after that is when the real fun begins."

The silence in the meeting room was appreciated by Becker, but he bet that on the inside they were nervous and panicking. "Meeting dismissed. If you have any questions, ask one of them." He gestured to Holland and Caspar, the former giving him a look clearly saying that he didn't want to participate in a Q/A session. "I will see you in two weeks, soldiers." With that he walked around the new soldiers and out the door.

**A/N: I apologize if I made a mistake in anything or forgotten anyone. I will alternate with my co-author in writing the chapters. Now since I have two of my own OCs in charge, tell me if your character hates or likes them. Please and thank you. Next chapter should be the night group.**


	2. Night: Drills with Jess

***Authors Note: If your character did not get mentioned in this chapter, they will in the next, it's just a bit difficult balancing all nine in one**

**A/N: Just thought I'd say who my co-author is. Drodgers89 with the asterisk. **

* * *

><p>Vlad Caspar sat at his desk pouring over the files of the nine soldiers he was going to be over. He didn't bother to glance up when someone knocked on his office door.<p>

"Come in," he called.

"Hey," his girlfriend, and another one of the ARC soldiers, Tess De Silva said, walking in, "Is that the files for your half of the group?"

"Yeah, five girls, four guys, trying to familiarize myself before I take them for a briefing with Jess. She's going to explain the coms system and get them their ID bracelets." he explained, just as his cell phone went off.

He picked it up, silencing the alarm and sighed. "That's my cue, I'll see you later Tessie," he said, grabbing the files and leaving the room.

Caspar could hear the group talking as he neared the locker room where they were supposed to meet. Stopping in the doorway, he surveyed the nine soldiers.

Eric Novak leaned against a wall by himself, texting intently on his phone. Probably his fiancé, he thought, recalling his file. Jason Mattison and Lexi Carsons sat talking on a bench to one side. He laughed softly wondering if it was another ARC romance in the making already.

He next intentionally sought out Chloe Meadows, she worried him a little. Her file showed she had problems taking orders, and she had several unknown absences scattered throughout the last several years. Caspar made a note to sit down and speak with her at some point, they didn't need another Matt.

The nine soldiers snapped to attention when he cleared his throat.

"For those of you who don't remember, I'm Vlad Caspar, you'll be reporting to me when Captain Becker is unavailable. Now tonight you won't be participating in any training exercises, you'll be meeting our field coordinator, Jess Parker, and having some of the basics explained." he said motioning for them to follow.

Jess was seated at the ADD when they walked in, her small fingers flying over the keyboard.

"Miss Parker," Caspar said, "I've brought the group for their briefing."

Jess spun in her chair to face them, smiling brightly and rising to her feet.

"Welcome to the ARC, I'm Jess Parker, the field coordinator. It's nice to meet you all."

"That's the field coordinator?" Annie Kane whispered to no one in particular, looking shocked.

Jason Mattison was the first to step forward, "Sergeant Jason Mattison, the pleasure is all mine," he said smoothly, kissing her hand.

"Nice to meet you as well, Sergeant," Jess said with a smile.

Caspar wanted to laugh, the poor guy didn't stand a chance. Everyone who'd spent any time at the ARC knew Jess' heart had already been claimed. Part of Caspar secretly wished Becker had been there, just to see the reaction. As much as he denied it, everyone knew he reciprocated when it came to the young field coordinators feelings.

Jess set to work passing out sheets of paper to each member.

"If you could make sure all the information on these are correct, I'll get your ID bands ready," she said.

"Can I ask you a question?" Lance Corporal Carsons asked, when Jess reached her.

"Of course," she replied with a smile.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but how old are you?"

"Nineteen," Jess replied.

"And you're field coordinator? Are you even qualified?"

"Yes, I graduated early," she explained, expression changing to one slightly guarded.

"At what, ten?"

"Lexi back off, first off she's an authority figure. Second, what's even your problem?" Sergeant Joshua Clemings asked.

Lexi just rolled her eyes, but fell silent. Jess shot Clemings an appreciative smile before continuing to hand out the papers. Caspar walked over to stand beside Lexi.

"If I catch you disrespecting a member of this team again Ms. Carsons, there will be consequences."

"Yes sir, I apologize, I just wasn't expecting someone so…young in her position."

"Ms. Parker is the best FC there is, you'll find that out soon enough." he said, before walking away.

The next hour consisted of Jess teaching the recruits how the coms system worked, and explaining that they were to keep earpieces and black boxes on at all time on the field. She then distributed their access bracelets and showed them how to use them and explaining the clearance levels.

"And I think that's it," she said with a smile, "Any questions?"

"Yeah, what are these?" Eric Novak asked, holding up an EMD.

"That's an EMD, basically a high powered stun gun, it's what we use when we go to an anomaly site."

"You fight dinosaurs with taser guns?" he asked incredulous, "Wouldn't real fire power make more sense?"

"If it were up to Becker, we'd have a tank," she said with a laugh, "But these were designed by our team leader, Matt Anderson."

"I like the Captain's idea better," he said flippantly.

Jess laughed before glancing at the rest of the soldiers to see if they had any questions, no one spoke up, so she turned to Caspar.

"That's everything I can tell them," she said.

Caspar turned to the group, "Dismissed, tomorrow you'll meet the core team and we'll start training drills."


	3. Day: Assessment

"And that was Parker with her tech babble." Holland said and gestured for the group of rookies to follow him out of the hub. "Now let's test out those so called skills some of you claim to have."

He led the odd group, not yet ready for uniforms, into a spacious and empty room. "Right, I can go on and give you some sort of speech I haven't prepared or I can just tell you I'll be judging your shooting and under pressure decision making. In a- let's say different way. So sit tight while I get the equipment."

Once he left, did Lieutenant Maxwell Johnson notice how silent the room was. Or how silent _they_ were in general. For the past hour and a half, no one had said a word as Holland gave them the grand tour. Not one comment. Not even when they were introduced Jess Parker and to the ta- EMD's.

Getting to know each other would definitely help in the field. So he turned to the man next to him. He was thin with scraggly dark brown hair and wore a gamer t-shirt that said 'Shoot me. I have two more lives'. He looked a bit older than Maxwell, only by a few years, but was _a lot_ more nervous.

Shifting from foot to foot, Lance Corporal Colin Darcy sighed shakily. This was his time to shine. Sure, he was pretty low on the military food chain but getting a job like this, in a top secret government facility,_ this_ was an opportunity. Which made everything ten times more pressuring. What if he messed up? It would be just like '04 all over again. Colin almost yelped when someone elbowed him in the arm. _Play it cool. _he thought.

"Hey," The man said, his hazel eyes twinkling. His name tag read "Lt. M. Johnson". Colin tried not to stare at the "Lt." part. This guy was barely a kid, younger than Colin, yet his rank was miles higher than Colin's would ever be.

"H-hi." Colin cleared his throat." Hi. Um, Colin Darcy." He extended a shaking hand.

"Johnson. Maxwell Johnson." They shook. "Max is fine though."

"Colin." Colin offered him a nervous smile.

"How fun do you think this will be? This assessment, I mean." Maxwell asked, hands in his jean pockets. He paced back and forth in front of Colin. "I mean, we're shooting things. Probably targets. You know, been there done that." He waved his hands as he talked and smiled.

A pretty girl with _very_ purple glasses turned towards them. "I know, right? What does shooting a target accomplish? It just shows how accurate you are, but accuracy doesn't matter if you know guns. Well, in my opinion." She blinked before blushing. "Sorry. I'm Vikki Lovell. Oh, whoops. _Lieutenant_ Lovell."

"Oh, uh, hi?" Colin stuttered, mentally facepalming for sounding like such an idiot..

"Hey there," Maxwell tipped his head. "So what were you saying about 'knowing guns'?"

⊙﹏⊙

On the other side of the group stood Dr. Ashlynn Harrison. Yes, she was a doctor, field medic really, but that didn't stop her from learning gun basics. 'Basics' then evolved to 'Advanced' which in a round about sort of way led her here.

There wasn't anyone else around her, except for a man who was slightly taller than herself and just as quiet. Maybe even more if that was possible. Ash decided she should initiate the conversation seeing as he wouldn't any time soon.

"Hello."

He snapped his head up from the tile he was staring at, his brilliant eyes -a green blue mix- looking momentarily lost, as if he didn't know where he was.

Realization dawned on him and Jackson McKay remembered that he wasn't back home in Manchester working in his auto shop-well his brother Harold's shop- but at some government facility in London. Jackson pushed off the wall he was leaning on and looked towards the woman who had spoke. "Yes?"

"You were looking a bit lonely there." Ash extended her hand, but let it drop when he didn't shake. "Doctor, or Lieutenant -which ever you prefer- Ashlynn Harrison. I prefer Ash though. You are?" She looked hopefully towards him, a small smile on her face.

He hesitated before answering. "Second Lieutenant McKay."

"Don't I get a first name?"

"Not at this moment."

Ash didn't get to ask whether he was trying to be funny or was serious because Holland entered carrying a cardboard box. He was followed by another man with short cropped hair and a brown leather jacket.

"Seems like we are getting friendly here," He said and raised an eyebrow at the trio closest to him. "First name basis already. Very nice. Very unprofessional. But that's totally fine with me. And him." Holland nodded to the unknown man beside him and dropped the box in the middle of the room. "Let's start, shall we? Okay, first things first. This is the team's leader, Matt Anderson. He's going to be helping out with the first bit of my exercise willingly. Isn't that right, Matt?"

"No."

"Good. I need another volunteer."

Lieutenant Cassandra Toxic glanced around to see no one volunteering. She tied her long black hair back into a pony tail and decided what the heck? She was pretty good at sharpshooting, well shooting things in general.

"Sure, why not?" She raised her hand slightly in the air and walked up to the two. Cassandra nodded to Matt who returned it before turning to Holland.

"Fabulous. Anderson, can you stand by the wall over there." Holland rooted through the box as Matt stood by the wall, opposite from the rookies. "Here you go, Lieutenant." He handed her a high powered water pistol. "And yes, I am serious. We can't have you lot shooting the team leader with EMD's, can we? Use your imagination." He knocked on her head once before dragging the box to the side where he also stood. "Now everyone watch and listen."

"My training session will be like an anomaly simulation. This is the anomaly." Grabbing the closest person to him which happened to be little Evelyn Solomarn.

Only out of training she was lucky to land a job like this. Or very unlucky. She glanced up at Holland then at the water pistol in Cassandra Toxic's hands then swallowed. Or very, _very_ unlucky.

"Imagination." He gestured to Cassandra. "That is one of you." Now gesturing to Matt. "That is one of the core team." Holland held up a stuffed wombat. "Now this, my little minions, is the creature. It's a vicious, sharp toothed monster. Carnivorous and wants to eat Matt. What do we do?"

"Kill it?" Someone with a thick Scottish brogue asked. Holland spun towards Sergeant Marcus Regozani. Marcus looked at him with pale blue eyes.

"No. We tazer it unconscious- er, EMD it."

Matt spoke up. "We only kill the creatures if they are extremely lethal, or if there a overwhelming amount of them."

"Killing them sounds better." The Sergeant muttered.

"Just out of curiousity," A woman with shoulder length dirty blonde hair stepped forwards, hands behind her back. Ash looked at the wombat. "What happens to the creature when we...taser them?"

"That is a good question, Lieutenant." Matt said. "The creature- if possible, is returned to it's own time. If not, transported carefully to the menagerie here at the ARC."

"You keep dinosaurs in the ARC?" Jackson McKay raised an eyebrow. "Seriously."

"Ser-ious-ly." Holland broke out the word into three syllables. "Comprende?"

"Comprende!" Cassandra giggled.

Holland clapped his hands together. "Right... You can ask questions later. Watch and learn."

Matt stood, arms folded, about 9 feet away from Cassandra. She held the water pistol, painted to resemble a EMD, pointed at the wombat.

"Scenario: Anderson is walking to the anomaly." Holland said and Matt walked towards Evelyn slowly. "Then, a blah-blah-saurus," he ignored the strange looks from his 'minions'. "comes out of the anomaly and attacks Matt." He tossed the wombat lightly towards Matt.

Cassandra fired instantly. The force of the stream of water pushed the wombat into the wall behind Matt moments before the plushy made contact with his face. Though her timing was perfect, her hand jerked slightly to the right, spraying Matt in the face.

"Sh- super. That was... woah. Nice trigger finger, Toxic." Holland whistled appreciatively. "Thank you Anderson for the help."

Matt glanced at the group before simply exiting the room. They could hear Connor asking what the hell happened to his face.

"Next! Regozani!" Holland announced. Cassandra walked back to her spot between Evelyn and Ash in the group and handed Marcus the water pistol. "Scenario: You're clearing the area. Then you see movement in the bushes. A rah-rah-saurus jumps out at you. What. Do. You. Do?" He pivoted on his heel to look at his little group. "What should the Sergeant do? C'mon. I'm testing your skills here."

"Radio in?" Colin Darcy asked meekly. Maxwell Johnson nudged him.

"Show you're confident, Colin. First impressions? Huh?" His new friend nudged him again.

Jackson smirked at the younger man and Colin mentally shrank back. Physically he stood taller.

Colin cleared his throat. "You radio in."

"Close. That's step numero deux. First, you shoot the thing in the head, run a good distance in the opposite direction of the innocent and or civilization, _then_ you radio in for back up. Example." Holland withdrew a stuffed badger from the box and threw it at Marcus. He reacted too late and ended up taking a step back and sent it flying towards the group with a solid roundhouse kick.

Coroporal Kizzy Richards caught it before it hit her face. Her green eyes blinking in astonishment, she exhaled slowly. "Woah. Nice kick, Regozani." She tossed the badger over Vikki who was standing in front of her and to Marcus.

"Thanks." He said with a slight smile.

Holland caught the badger from Marcus. "Well, if it's like, badger sized then kicking it would work. I guess. But if it's like, I don't know, Solomarn's size then you would have to shoot the sucker. No offense, Evelyn." He tossed the badger at Marcus. "Again."

¯\(°_o)/¯

Everyone was exhausted by the end of the whole exercise. Maybe it was because mostly everyone got soaked somehow. Maybe it was because each soldier was pelted by badgers, lions, cows, and wombats. Most wondered why this guy even had a stuffed zoo in a box. Mysteries that would never be unraveled. Either way, they were glad it was over. And this was just a training day.

Holland shoved his box into a corner of the room before walking towards the door. "Well, all of you have your own strengths, weaknesses, etcetera, etcetera. From what I've seen, all of you have pretty good judgement and reflexes. You start work next week and your time schedules need to be picked up from the Captain. Enjoy the life of patrol a.k.a walking around the building for no particular reason, CCTV duty a.k.a watching black and white screens because we haven't got the money to upgrade to color, paperwork which is obviously paper and work, and many other _fun_ things. I'll be in my office most of the time if you ever need me. Now go away." He held the door open as the soldiers exited in single file.

It was about six in the evening as they headed to the ARC's underground car lot. Most of the soldiers were tired and wanted to get back to their cozy little home as soon as possible, but three lagged behind.

"Um, hey. Lance Coroporal, Lovell." Maxwell prodded both of them, the pair already in their own little conversation. Colin turned around in surprise before looking down at the floor in front of him, as if embarrassed. Vikki on the other hand smiled at Maxwell and adjusted her glasses.

"Hi?"

"I know we just met, but why don't we go out somewhere? All three of us." He looked expectantly at Colin, then Vikki.

"U-uh o-okay." Colin stammered. He wasn't used to being invited to outings. That may have something to do with the lack of friends he had in London.

Vikki grinned. "Sounds great! There's this cinema we could go to."

"Then that's where we're going." Maxwell announced and began walking to his car. He turned around. "Your first name's Vikki right?"

"Yeah. Forget already?" She asked teasingly.

"Not yet." His smile faded slightly. "It's just that my sister's name is Vicky. Victoria really." He paused for a moment before quickly changing the subject. "Let's watch a movie that actually makes sense, okay? So no spacey things, Colin. Lovell, lead the way."

Vikki, oblivious to his discomfort happily started talking a mile a minute about a high paced, action flick as they walked towards their cars.

Colin listened, all the while thinking that this- the ARC, the dinosaurs- might actually be fun. That was on the mind of many of the other soldiers that evening.

They were right...partially.

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><p><strong>AN: Right, this was more Colin, Maxwell, and Vikki centric but I am pretty sure I involved everyone. If I was a bit OOC for your characters, TELL ME. Please and thanks. If you have any more info, feel free to add it in an review. Thanks for reading.**

**Trivia: There _is_ a reason why he has a box of stuffed animals. It's a thing from my FS Role-Play group.**


	4. Night: Assessment

Caspar stood with Abby in the gym, waiting for the last of the soldiers to arrive. He'd planned sparring exercises for the night and had enlisted her help due to the odd number of girls in his group.

Once the group was assembled, he began to explain the day's activity.

"I've asked for some assistance with tonight's activity, due to the fact we're working with an odd number of female soldiers. This is Abigail-" he was cut off by a sharp look from the blonde, "_Abby_ Maitland, she's a member of the core team and will be paired with one of you for tonight's sparring drill."

He surveyed the group before speaking again.

"Novak with Clemings, MacKenzie with Mattison, Smith with Carsons, Chase, I want you with Miss Maitland, and Meadows, you're with Kane. Now, spread out and I want you to start with the basics, I'm just getting an idea of your skill level."

* * *

><p>Lieutenant Alexis Chase circled her opponent, sizing her up. She'd learned a long time ago not to underestimate an opponent due to her size, and Abby was a fair bit smaller than her.<p>

"What's your name? All I got out of Caspar was "Chase" and I assume that's a last name," Abby asked, not taking her eyes from her opponent.

"Sorry," Alexis said, stopping and extending a hand, "Lieutenant Alexis Chase, nice to meet you,"

"Nice to meet you," she said, smiling and shaking her hand, before they resumed their stances.

Alexis made a move to lunge at Abby, who neatly dodged out of the way, sweeping her leg out in attempt to trip Alexis.

She easily rolled out of the way and quickly got back to her feet.

"You're good," Abby said, with a small smile.

"Thanks," she said, swinging a low kick at Abby's calf and catching her off guard.

Abby hit the mat flat on her back.

"Nice work," Abby said, taking the hand Alexis extended and getting back to her feet.

* * *

><p>Joshua Clemings watched his partner apprehensively, trained mostly in firearms, Josh had a feeling he was about to go down, and quickly.<p>

He wasn't a weak person, he could fight, but this guy looked like he lived for it.

"Would you like to go on offense or defense first?" Eric asked.

"Offense," Josh replied after considering.

"Alright, take your best shot," Eric challenged.

_That_ was something easier said then done, every time Josh made a move, Eric anticipated it and countered expertly, normally taking Josh down in the process. He sighed as he scrambled back to his feet for probably the fifth time.

"You know what your problem is?" Eric asked.

"What's that?"

"When you launch an attack, you've already told yourself it's going to fail, there's no force behind it," he explained.

"That's because we're just sparring."

"You wouldn't go easy on a real opponent, why go easy on me?" he countered, suddenly coming forward and flipping Josh onto the mat.

He hit the ground _hard, _wincing at the contact and sighing. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>One thing that Maria had known when she'd been paired with Lance Corporal Carsons, was that they would clash. Personality wise, they were too much alike for it to go any other way. There was one big difference in her and Lexi, she wasn't stupid enough to disrespect a member of authority.<p>

The truth was, Maria hadn't understood the big deal to begin with, sure Jess Parker was young, and incredibly….bubbly, even for her taste and she was normally a rather happy person, but it had been obvious she knew what she was doing.

"What made you join the military?" Maria asked.

"Escape," Lexi replied, dodging a punch, before aiming one of her own, "Honestly, I couldn't get away from home soon enough."

"So how does an American end up working at a top secret _British _government facility?"

Lexi shrugged, "I wanted change, so I changed continents."

Maria had to laugh at that, maybe this girl wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

><p>"Think we should split them up?" Jason Mattison mused from where he leaned against the wall talking to Dallas MacKenzie.<p>

"Well that depends, what do you think our chances of coming out alive are?" he asked, watching as Eric and Josh seemingly attempted to kill each other.

Jason tilted his head, debating, as Caspar went over to split the two up.

"I said the basics! That is not the basics, it's attempted murder," he exclaimed.

Eric smirked, "I was just trying to get Josh prepared, an actual attacker isn't going to stick to _the basics," _he explained unphased.

"I don't care about an actual attacker at the moment, when I give an order Novak, you follow it. Clear?"

"Yes, sir," he replied, an underlying hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Caspar turned to the rest of the group who had stopped to watch, "Back to work!" he called.

"I vote some of us go for drinks after this, I think we're going to them," Jason said, pushing away from the wall.


	5. Day: Anomaly

Cassandra Toxic skipped down one of the many great halls in the ARC. One hand clutched her new schedule, the other held a map of the ARC. She stopped abruptly and paused remembering that she had to be professional, but subconsciously started again after a few minutes of 'professional walking'.

The goth skipped around the corner, humming softly to herself, and nearly crashed into Colin Darcy. He squeaked.

"Oh, hi!" She beamed at him.

"Um, hi?" He shrank back under her gaze. "Er, do you- nevermind...Uh, do you know where the, um, CCTV room is?"

"Yep! That's where I'm heading to!" She exclaimed and held out her schedule. And right there in bold was the word '**CCTV**'.

"Oh. Awesome." Colin replied and laughed nervously when in reality he was terrified. Maybe because craziness radiated out of her. Or maybe it was just because she was a girl. Colin wasn't very good at talking to girls. And now he was going to be stuck watching the closed circuit cameras with her for two hours.

Cassandra did a cartwheel into the CCTV room once they arrived. Colin lagged behind, his hands nervously in his pockets playing with the keys to his flat. They seated themselves in the two chairs positioned in front of the multiple screens covering different angles and parts of the ARC.

They sat in an awkward silence, or at least in Colin's point of view. Cassandra just didn't want to talk to him. She was busy mentally singing to herself.

It was going to be a long day.

ಥ_ಥ

Somewhere on the other side of the ARC...

Evelyn Solomarn walked down her patrol route, head hung low as she thought. She was thinking about her best friend. The spray of bullets, the black SUV, the man that was never caught. She swallowed thickly and looked up just as she crashed into Captain Becker who was turning the corner.

He took a step back to re-balance then looked at her. "Watch where you are going, Solomarn." Becker said gruffly, before side stepping around her and heading off.

"Sorry sir," Evelyn muttered, not sounding very sorry. Becker was uptight. He liked things professional. She didn't like that. Evelyn was a dancer, carefree and loose, that was her style.

At least he remembered her name.

She turned the corner he had just come from and noticed Kizzy Richards heading her way.

Kizzy sighed in relief at the sight of a familiar face. She remembered Evelyn from last weeks 'Zap-A-Wombat' assessment day. "Hi. Solomarn, right?" She asked once they were close enough.

Evelyn returned the smile and examined her painted nails. "Evelyn Solomarn. Richard's right?"

"Kizzy Richards. Where are you heading to?" She asked, her green eyes sparkling in curiosity.

Evelyn adjusted her black uniform top. "Just down that hall." She nodded towards the hall connecting to the Hub. "And back. Repeat."

"Oh, so you're on patrol. So am I." Kizzy made a face. "First day you would think it would be fun. At least more fun than this."

"Trust me, I would rather be on patrol than doing this." A male voice said from a short distance away. The girls turned their heads to see a young man with strands of light brown hair flopping over his eyes coming towards them. He carried a pile of papers and files, some having came loose from their designated folder.

"Maxwell Johnson. Fellow rookie." He said and offered them a smile. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, I'm looking for this office." With slight difficulty he handed them a slip of paper with a number scrawled on it. "And I would shake your hand if I had a free one."

"Yeah, I think I passed by this one while on patrol. Follow me." Kizzy said and began walking.

"Here, let me help you." Evelyn said and outstretched her arms. Slowly, Maxwell handed her a small pile to carry.

Eventually after many wrong rights and other lefts, they made it to the spare office.

"Hey, thanks." Maxwell said as he dropped his pile of paper onto the spare desk next to Evelyn's pile.

"No problem. We've got to go. Patrol." Evelyn rolled her eyes and he laughed.

"See you later, then, Miss. Solomarn." He bowed comically before going back to his work.

Once the girls were a good distance away, Kizzy nudged her in the ribs and grinned. "He likes you. He really likes you."

Evelyn blushed slightly and hung her head so Kizzy didn't see. "No he doesn't..."

"Yes he does. I can tell." Before Kizzy could go on more to tease her new friend, a strange alert began blaring through out the halls.

"Anomaly?"

"I think so."

Kizzy jumped in slight surprise when her phone vibrated and she took it out just as Evelyn took hers. Curious, they looked at the message that had been sent to both of their mobiles.

_Perfect learning xperience. Co-ordinates have been sent to ur phones. Get ur gear and meet me at the anomaly site. Stat! -H. Keevers_

The girls exchanged excited grins before heading towards the armory.

ب_ب

Holland stood waiting for the group of 9 at the anomaly site, arms folded over his chest. A drop of water fell from the bridge he was standing under and joined the others matting his once ruffled hair to his head. It had just rained a few hours ago, making tracking whatever was loose slightly more complex. Thank god the anomaly was under a bridge. Now if it was over the bridge then traffic wouldn't be the only problem.

Dr. Ashlynn Harrison arrived at the site first with Marcus Regozani who was carpooling with her. She glanced around the area, taking in the large, stone bridge with cars zooming by, unaware of what was going on under it. Under the bridge there was a large glittering ball floating in the middle of the walk way.

Marcus walked towards Holland, making sure he was on the inside of the walkway. Water wasn't exactly his favorite thing in the world.

Soon the others arrived, and then did Holland begin talking.

"See the shiny thing? That is an anomaly. Now, I need a few of you to watch over the anomaly site, a few of you to watch over the anomaly sealer, and a few of you to search for the creature. Becker already as some of the creature wrangling veterans searching the area in case a creature got out." Holland told them.

"Harrison, you're more into the medical field, right? Yes you are." Holland said, answering his own question. "You and... Regozani, watch over the anomaly sealer. As in if it goes haywire, tell someone from the core team."

The two nodded and rushed over to the anomaly sealer.

"Solomarn, Richards, Darcy, and Lovell. You four will position yourselves along the perimeter of the anomaly site. Since we're under a bridge, I'd say each of you will take one corner. If a civilian comes by, tell them this is classified and there is nothing to worry about. If a creature comes by... remember the exercise we did during your evaluation." Holland snapped his fingers and gestured for them to move.

"Johnson, McKay, and Toxic. You three will join a few of the monster hunting veterans in tracking down the la-la-saurus. Well, if there is one. All of you will be put in the same squad to make things less terrifying.." He turned to another soldier and talked to him for a moment. "Right, follow this guy. He'll be leading your squad along with a few others. I've got some things to take care of." Holland ran off, leaving the three to follow an unnamed soldier.

He led them towards a group of soldiers that greeted them warmly, quite possibly remembering their first days experiencing 'the joy' of wrestling with a dinosaur. They followed the soldier down the canal pathway as he instructed them to watch the water in case the creature was a swimmer.

"Excuse me, but if it is in the water, what do we do? Electricity plus water equals a big shock. I don't think it's very smart." Maxwell asked and waved his EMD in the air.

The soldier was about to respond when he snapped his head towards the growth of cattail stretching along side the water and walkway.

"Quiet." He hissed and aimed his EMD to the rustling plants as did the rest of the group. Jackson, Maxwell, and Cassandra watched in a mixture of excitement, interest, and slight fear. A group of cattails parted slowly... and a stray cat (ironically) strutted out, mewing softly. The lead soldier of this squad sighed and lowered his gun.

"It's just a cat." He bent down and scratched the purring cat behind the ears. He stood and turned around to face the rookies, about to say something when he froze. He aimed his EMD at Cassandra. "Move!"

Nothing could prepare them for the shock they were going to experience only moments later. The rookies turned around simutaneously to become face to face with one very large raptor.

"Holy crap." Jackson muttered. His mind whirled as he recalled as much information as he could on dinosaurs (which wasn't very much). He recognized it to be a raptor, very carnivorous. It must have ambled through the anomaly. Just then did he realize why the ARC was a government facility. Without a second to lose, he fired. Beating one of the veterans by a few seconds.

Now these soldiers had many experiences with various creatures which made the raptor less of a shock, but the reaction timing this McKay newbie had was amazing.

"Raptor spotted on the East end." The lead soldier said into his ear piece before firing at the raptor.

The two consecutive shots hit the raptor, each time sending a large voltage of electricity through it's body. The third sent it reeling backwards. It hit the ground, unconscious, in under a minute since it was spotted. Immediately the group spread out, searching quickly for any more creatures but to find none.

Maxwell crouched down by the raptor and nudged it with his boot. He watched it twitch with mild curiosity. "A dinosaur." He stated aloud.

"No, it's a fairy." Jackson replied sarcastically, earning a look from the younger man.

Cassandra clapped her hands together happily. "I like fairies!" She announced and received strange looks from both.

The soldier from before walked over to them, looking down at the raptor with slight amusement. "Alright you guys. You three can drag the raptor back to the anomaly. We'll continue the search." He handed them a large plain tarp before jogging off with the other soldiers.

The three exchanged weary looks before Jackson tossed the canvas tarp over the raptor. "Fun."

●︿●

Ash stood tall and straight. She eyed the anomaly sealer with great interest. Technology these days blew her mind. Next she looked at the anomaly past Marcus' head. Amazing. And that wasn't even technology.

Marcus folded his arms and sighed. They were stuck with one of the dullest jobs on the site. Well, not as dull as watching the perimeter. He watched the anomaly reflect off of the water it floated beside. He wondered how they sealed it if the anomaly was over the water, or worse, in the water. Well, then they were lucky it decided to appear on the cement pathway.

_"Raptor spotted on the East end." _A voice said through their earpiece.

The two exchanged slightly worried glances.

"Raptor, as in prehistoric raptor?" Ash asked, wondering whether anyone was hurt.

"Can't be..." Marcus trailed off considering the possibilities.

The two turned their heads in unison, guns slightly raised at a sudden sound. It was just Maxwell and Johnson carrying a wrapped up figure. Cassandra pranced beside them.

"Is anyone hurt?" Ash asked immediately and examined the three from where she stood.

"No, we're fine." Maxwell responded and lowered the raptor carefully to the ground. "We just need to send this lil' guy back home."

"Wait!" A voice called out. "Hold on! Don't touch my anomaly sealer!" A man ran down the walkway, nearly slipped on a puddle, and skidded to a stop in front of them. He shoved his EMD into Jackson's hands and began typing in commands.

Ash recognized him as Connor Temple, boy genius and member of the _original _team. Connor unsealed the anomaly and nodded towards it as he was still trying to catch his breath.

Jackson exchanged looks with Maxwell and together they tossed the sack into the anomaly.

"Cool, now let's close it again." Connor tapped in some more commands and the anomaly sealed back into a glittering ball. "Awesome. Now I gotta help Matt. Later Becker's bunch." The young man gave them a sloppy salute with the wrong hand before darting off to join the others.

٩(×̯×)۶

A few hours later...

The core team had already left, seeing as there weren't any incursions and the only creature that had managed to escape was sent back.

Vikki took a cautious step back as the anomaly began flickering. "Is it supposed to do that?" She asked to no one in particular.

"Yes." Holland said as he walked towards the group from where ever he went off to. "That means it's closing. Good thing too, your shifts ended ages ago."

A few seconds after he said that, the anomaly disappeared, as if it was never there.

"And that was your first anomaly and for a few of you, first creature. Congratulations. Now go home." Holland said and folded his arms expectantly. "Oh and before I forget." He slapped a sticker on everyone's chest that said in bold words 'I am Holland's minion'. "They're in sticker format now! Have a good day."

Their first day had been eventful and no doubt, so would their last.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Another RP reference in there. And just a heads up, the next chapters of mine will be in different character's POV's. **


	6. Night: Simulation

Chloe Meadows knocked on Second Lieutenant Caspar's door. She had no idea what she'd done, but when Jess had given them there schedules that morning, hers had been accompanied by a note stating to go directly to his office.

"Come in!" he called.

As soon as she walked in, she debated hightailing it and running, not only was Caspar there, Captain Becker was.

"Evening, Second Lieutenant Caspar, Captain Becker," she greeted with a curt nod.

"Lieutenant Meadows, have a seat," Caspar said, gesturing to a chair.

She sat down and crossed her ankles. It was Captain Becker who spoke up next.

"You've reached the point in your training where you're going to be going out on the field with the core team. When we're out there, one of the most important elements is trust. I also need to know you're going to be there when the team needs you, something both Caspar and I are questioning at the moment, due to your previous unexplained absences. I'm giving you the opportunity to make us understand what's going on, but the final point is, we can't have someone on the team who the rest of the team, doesn't trust."

Chloe hesitated, knowing fully that if she didn't answer her commanding officer's questions, she would be asked to leave the ARC.

"My previous absences from duty were not due to me laying out or any of the like, they were because there had been an alleged sighting of my little brother Jason, who went missing when he was sixteen."

An unspoken communication flashed between Becker and Caspar, both knowing that if in her case, they'd do the same.

"Have you reported these leads to the police?" Caspar asked.

"They classified my brother as a teenage runaway a long time ago, they won't do anything. All I can say to you, is this, I want to be a part of this team, when I'm on the field there will be no question of where my trust lies and the team will be able to trust me, they will come first, but…I can't stop looking for James…I won't."

"We wouldn't expect you to," Becker said sincerely, just as a commotion in the hall snapped all three of their attentions away from the current situation.

* * *

><p>"Does this happen often?" Corporal Annie Kane, asked exasperated, rounding the corner at a run.<p>

"To me? Yea, pretty much," Connor panted.

"What were they even doing out of their cages?" she asked, just as Becker burst out of Caspar's office, Caspar and Chloe close at his heels.

"What is going on?" Becker asked, already glaring at Connor.

"Why do you automatically look at me?" he cried.

"Connor…" he growled.

"Sid and Nancy are loose in the ARC," he said sheepishly.

"What did you do?"

"They looked like they needed to stretch their legs!"

"I'm going to kill you Temple!" Becker said exasperated, before turning to Caspar, "Get your group, might as well give them a little training drill. You'll be directing them to finding Sid and Nancy via CCTV," he said before walking off.

Caspar assembled the group in front of the CCTV room.

"Alright, groups are, Kane and Novak, Chase and Carsons, Meadows and Clemings, and MacKenzie, Smith and Mattison. I will feed you information from the CCTV, it's your job to find and contain the creatures, but there's a kicker, I've had obstacles set up, events similar to ones you may encounter on the field. Now, get ready, set, start!"

* * *

><p>Lieutenant Maria Smith glanced over at her partners for the event, Jason Mattison and Dallas MacKenzie, they were on the trail of one of the diictodons , and so far hadn't run into any of Caspar's "obstacles."<p>

Suddenly a scream filled the hallway and the three soldiers exchanged looks before moving swiftly forward. They came upon two figures, one kneeling next to the second who was laying on the ground. Maria recognized the figures, the team leader Matt Anderson and another member of the core team, Emily Merchant.

"Please, help! My boyfriend has been attacked, he can't move," she cried.

Maria froze briefly, before snapping into action.

"MacKenzie radio Jess, have a medical team dispatched, Mattison keep an eye on the area, radio backup if you see any creatures," she called over, before sinking to the ground next to Matt.

"Ma'am can I have your scarf please?" she asked.

Emily quickly unwound her scarf and passed it over, watching as Maria tied it tightly over the "wound" on Matt's leg.

"Sir, help is on the way, just stay with us," she said applying pressure to the fake wound.

Caspar's voice came over the coms about three minutes later,

"Congratulations, you've just successfully saved your first civilian, please continue on your way. Nice work, especially you, Lieutenant Smith."

Maria grinned and exchanged high fives with her teammates before continuing down the corridor.

* * *

><p>Corporal Alexis Chase motioned for Lexi Carsons to move as easily as she could towards the other end of the hall. Lexi got into position, and gave a small nod to Alexis, who eased forwards.<p>

One of the diictodons was positioned between them, so far unaware of their presence. Alexis eased forward, arms outstretched to capture the diictodon, Lexi stood in the same position in case it tried to bolt.

When Alexis was in reaching distance, she glanced up at Lexi, counting up to three on her fingers where she could see before lurching forward. The diictodon lurched forward and Lexi dove for it, missing and hitting the ground, face first.

"Ow," she muttered, before taking the hand Alexis offered and getting to her feet.

* * *

><p>It was Annie Kane and Eric Novak who next encountered the escaped diictodon. Eric grabbed a trash can from the closest office, which was thankfully empty, and brought it down over the diictodon.<p>

"Nice work," Annie laughed.

Eric raised the can enough to slide his hand underneath and get a grip on the diictodon. He nodded and Annie flipped the trashcan upright so Eric could put the diictodon inside.

"And to the menagerie," he said with a smirk.

"One down, one to go," Annie sighed.

* * *

><p>Daniel Hunt, the ARC's field medic and one of the team members Caspar had recruited to help with one of the obstacles for the soldiers, crouched in the rafters above Corridor B. In his hands was one of the most realistic rubber snakes he'd ever seen.<p>

He'd been told to wait on one soldier in particular, Sergeant Clemings. The test was going to be designed to see how he handled dangerous situations, even when faced with his worst fear.

Clemings rounded the corner and Daniel dropped the snake so that it landed on the ground about a foot in front of him. Daniel had it attached to a clear wire, which he used to make it move slightly. Clemings froze, eyes widening at the snake, before he instinctively pushed Lieutenant Meadows back slightly.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the second diictodon in an empty office. He reached over and pulled the door closed, before turning his full attention to the snake, who while his attention had been turned, had come forward a considerable bit.

Had he paid attention he would have noticed Chloe staring up at the rafters, trying her best not to laugh at Daniel's puppeteer act.

Joshua eased forward and crouched down, preparing to grab the snake. That's when he realized something…

"It's rubber," he said incredulously, causing both Chloe and Daniel to burst out laughing.

Daniel jumped down from the rafters, "Congratulations, not only did you hold yourself together when faced with your biggest fear, you realized your biggest fear was…" he picked up the snake and threw it in the air with a relish, "…rubber."

Josh laughed, "Well played."

They then went into the office to get the diictodon, finding their job had been made incredibly easy, it was asleep in the corner.

****Daniel Hunt belongs to TheNinjaIdiot1, and is an OC from our RP group.**


	7. Day: Jackson McKay

**Name: _Jackson McKay_**

**Age and Birthplace: _30, Manchester_**

**Gender: _M_**

**Rank: _Second Lieutenant_**

**Appearance: _5'8", light brown hair, green/blue eyes_**

**Notes: _Aloof, Quiet, Sarcastic, Highly Intelligent, Mechanically Gifted, Sharpshooter_**

**...**

_"Hand me that wrench over there."_

_Jackson slapped the metal tool into his brother's open palm. The other man's eyes widened and he stared at his slightly red hand before at Jackson, a horrified look in his eyes._

_"Ow! Not so hard, Jack." Harold said with mock sterness. Jackson rolled his eyes and peered into the car's hood. Harold was the only person he let call him Jack. To others it was either Jackson, or McKay._

_ It was a nice car, older than what they were used to working on. He glanced around the autoshop they ran together, taking in the memories that took place there. _

_After a few minutes of tinkering, Harold lifted his head and smiled, green eyes twinkling. "She's good to go. You call up Dean and tell him his beaut is as good as new. And tell him happy birthday while you're at it. Oh, put this away, will ya?" He slapped the wrench into Jackson's hand._

_Jackson couldn't help but grin while trying to ignore the stinging pain. He dropped it into the red tool box that was always open and walked into their office. Flipping through a phonebook he found the number he was supposed to call._

_ This was his life. And it was a good life. Doing what he loved best and working with who he loved best. His older brother. Tall with light brown hair-similiar to his own- slicked back with gel, green eyes from their mother glowing in self pride from their latest accomplishment, and a smile that could charm any customer._

_"Have you called Dean yet?" Harold's called out from the shop followed by some large tool falling and a stream of cuss words._

_"Relax, one minute won't change anything." Jackson replied with a small laugh. _

What he didn't know.

It took a few minutes to realize that the dull pounding sound was in fact the anomaly alert. Jackson was too deep in his thoughts to notice it at first until the kid, Maxwell poked his head in the locker room where Jackson had positioned himself on the bench.

"Um, hey. They need us there if you haven't realized that." Maxwell tossed him a small post it folded into a paper airplane. "Street address there. See you, McKay." He ducked his head back out and walked away, almost quickly.

Jackson took a moment to gather his thoughts before he pushed off the bench and strode out and into the hallway. He was thinking about Harold again. Back in the good days. When Jackson was sure his life was going no where after his brief time in the army. Harold had offered him a job at his autoshop, knowing how much young Jackson liked cars. He was 24 then. Harold was 32 and as charming as ever.

They were always close, even as kids. 30 odd years later they were still close. As close as they could when one was in the hospital every other week.

Harold was diagnosed with cancer a two years ago. It only took a minute to change both of their lives. Jackson didn't remember the name of it but he knew it was cancer. Through the list of medical terms and notes he did recognize one thing. He had three years left to spend with his dear brother.

It had affected Jackson probably more than it affected Harold. It had changed him in a way that wasn't good. He hadn't noticed much but others that knew him two years ago would have noticed in an instant. Coldness had overcome the warmth inside of him.

Jackson shook his head to clear the thoughts and unfolded the blue sticky note. He read the address, recognizing it from the drives to and from work. It was a small primary school.

The drive was short and he met up with the rest of his co-workers there. Becker was waiting for them all with the core team. Matt was speaking to a woman that was presumably a teacher before whispering something in Becker's ear. The Captain grimaced slightly and turned to the soldiers.

"I've sent a group of more experienced men in first to locate the anomaly, so far nothing. I need some of you to calm the civilians," He nodded towards the panicked group forming behind the caution tape line someone had set up. "And a few on perimeter watch."

There was a distraught cry which turned heads. One of the parents, the only one without a child clinging to her side, stared in disbelief at the woman Matt had just talked to. The teacher was trying to calm the distressed parent unsuccessfully.

"Another thing." Becker said, trying not to look at her. "If you see a little boy about this tall, escort him this way."

"There's a child in there?" Kizzy Richards glanced at the one story building with concern.

"Unfortunately," Matt intervened. "But we'll work to get him out before anything happens."

"There hasn't been a incursion from what I've been told, but keep your eyes open. Clear?" Becker looked expectantly at the nine.

"Yes, sir!" They said in unison, saluting him.

"Good. Lovell, Regozani, Richards, and Toxic. Spread yourselves among the crowd and try to calm them down. We don't need a riot. Johnson, Darcy, and Solomarn. Position yourselves around the perimeter. Keep people out... and keep creatures in." Becker pivoted on his right heel to face Jackson who straightened up immediately.

"You're the guy that got to the raptor before my men did," He stated. "Nice skills, McKay. You will assist the core team with me. Harrison, you're coming with us as a field medic this time, not soldier. Our usual medic is out sick today. Brilliant timing too."

"Let's see how multi-talented you are." Matt said to Ash and turned to Abby and Connor. "Let's go."

"You heard the man. Positions." Becker ordered and the group of nine broke up. Jackson checked his EMD before following after the core team with Ash. She was clutching her white medical kit to her chest with one hand, the other holding a smaller version of the regular EMDs. The two tailed the team, watching their backs while Becker covered the front.

They entered the foyer which looked neat and organized. No sign of any creatures frolicking about. So they descended deeper into the building quietly.

Jackson remembered the days when he was in school. Average grades, boring lectures. Good times.

Connor Temple broke the silence. "S'like a horror movie, huh, Abs? Just wait until one of these doors open up and the guy with the chainsaw comes out!" He began humming some horror movie theme and nudged his girlfriend Abby Maitland with his elbow.

"Focus, Connor." She glared at him as he waved his EMD about.

Becker looked down at his hand-held anomaly detector and led the group towards a room.

"Okay, okay." He trailed off as they moved towards the 'boiler room'. Even with the door closed the faint golden glow was fairly noticeable through the cracks.

They all paused around the door, the core team glancing at one another.

"Well go on, Matt. Open the door." Connor said and ushered him with his free hand.

"I think we should get Becker to do it." Matt replied calmly, his finger on his gun's trigger.

Becker held up the anomaly detector and his EMD. "Hands full."

Everyone looked at Jackson and Ash. The lieutenant held up her medical kit. "I'm only the field medic today." That left Jackson.

He rolled his eyes and kicked open the door revealing the glittering anomaly... and five EMD's pointed at him.

"Hold on," Becker said from behind him and entered. The soldiers immediately put down their guns at the sight of their Boss. A few mumbled 'sir', others saluted.

Connor bustled in with his anomaly sealer and began setting it up with Abby's supervision. Matt talked with Becker in low voices.

"Alright," The soldier finally said, lifting his head up from his discussion. "Harrison, McKay. Since you're the newbies here we'll give you a safe job. Look for the kid. Now."

Jackson nodded and saluted the Captain before nudging Harrison and walking out of the room. He walked quickly and confidently, gun ready to shoot anything moving. Ash almost had to jog to keep up with his long legs.

"Where do we start?" Ash asked softly but he shushed her.

"Be quiet." he said with a slightly harsh tone. Ash didn't mind.

"Why? There aren't any creatures, right? If there were the other soldiers would've reported it."

Jackson looked over his shoulder and realized he was walking too fast. He slowed down so they were walking at an equal pace. "A creature might have gotten out before we arrived." He stopped walking and turned to her fully. "Precautions. And beside, we need to listen for the ki-."

"Excuse me?" Both turned from their conversation to see a child staring up at them. He shifted from foot to foot nervously, pale green eyes widening at the sight of their guns. "Wow, are you soldiers?"

"Yes," Jackson responded before Ash could.

She rolled her eyes. "Field medic, right now." She mumbled and to her surprise the-ever-so-sarcastic-and-dead-silent Jackson knelt down and began talking softly to the kid.

"We're here to get you out." He said to the boy who looked about 9.

"Out of school? Why?" The boy asked curiously.

Jackson glanced at Ash who shrugged and scanned the area for creatures. He looked back at the kid and said the first thing on his mind.

"It's classified. So I can't tell anybody." He said with a smile, balancing on the balls of his feet.

"That's so cool!" The boy's eyes lit up and he grinned. "When I grow up, I want to fight bad guys like you!"

The soldier nodded his head, a smile playing on his lips. "Being a soldier is hard work. You have to be brave. Are you brave?" The boy nodded his head furiously.

"Good, then let's get out of here, okay? What's your name?"

"Mason Hale, sir!" Mason saluted him. Ash laughed softly and took his hand as Jackson got to his feet.

"Come on, Mason." She said softly as she began walking towards the main enterance. "Let's get you to your mum."

"Okay!" He said with a grin. She tousled his dark brown hair and mouthed 'radio in' to Jackson.

"We've found the boy, sir." Jackson said into his earpiece and waited for a reply.

_"Good. Get him out of there then come back to help us search the building." _Becker replied. There was a loud metallic crashing sound in the background and Jackson heard someone swear. _"It's around the corner."_ Becker ordered someone and there was inaudible reply. _"Careful, I think it's carnivorous...McKay, get the kid out. Now." _

Jackson ran up to Ash who had walked ahead of him and was talking to Mason about being a field medic.

"I help the soldiers that get hurt." She explained, stopping to turn around when Jackson tapped her on the shoulder.

"We've got a problem." He began but was interrupted by the sound of metal cans hitting the ground. A can holding a single pencil rolled around the corner, coming to a stop in front of their feet.

"Get back." Ash warned and stood in front of Mason. The trio began backing up, faster when they saw what was around the corner. It was a smallish lizard, about six feet long, and covered in small feathers. It scowled at them and hissed.

Ash's eyes widened and she muffled a squeak. "I-It's a Dromaeosaurus." She said. "Kinda like a raptor."

Jackson decided to question her knowledge on dinosaurs later. He raised his EMD and fired two shots at it. The creature screeched as it was hit and stumbled back a bit.

"Run!"

Ash took Mason's hand and they ran down the corridor. "I don't think this is a good idea!" She shouted at Jackson.

"Why?" He looked over his shoulder to see the lizard jump to it's feet.

"It's nicknamed as the 'running lizard'." She swung open the door to a closet and jostled Mason in. Just as she was about to close the door, Jackson pushed her in as well and slammed it shut. He shoved a chair under the handle, ignoring Ash's protests and banging. "I can handle this." He shouted back sternly.

Her voice was muffled by the wooden barrier. "I can take care of myself. I'm also a soldier, you know!"

"Yes, but right now you're keeping the kid safe." He replied as the lizard advanced towards him.

"You need my help, _Second_ Lieutenant. Oh, and that is the worst comeback I've ever heard." Ash stopped banging for a moment. "Oh look! A deadly _bucket_!" She screamed with sarcasm and there was a metallic clang which was what he suspected as the 'deadly bucket'.

He rolled his eyes and backed up as the Dromaeosaurus nudged the chair, finding it boring, and went back to stalking him. Jackson felt the wall come in contact with his back and from the corner of his eye noticed another hallway. He turned his head towards it to check if it was clear and quickly snapped his head back. That was when the creature attacked.

His sudden yelp must have alerted Ash because she began banging against the door again. Jackson kicked the raptor like creature off his chest before firing at it with the EMD. He felt a stinging pain in his fore arm where _that thing_ bit him.

His shot missed the Dromaeosaurus and it came at him again. It was about to leap when it shrieked and hit the floor unconscious. Ash stood behind the pile of feathery lizard and lowered her EMD. She was trembling slightly.

"What did I say?" She sighed and rushed over to Jackson's side. Opening up her medical kit she got his wound wrapped up in a bandage in record timing. "You're going to see the medic once we get back, okay?"

"I'm f-"

Ash gave him 'the look'. "_Okay_?" She said through gritted teeth.

"Okay," Jackson agreed quickly. "Where's Mason?" Ash nodded towards the closet.

"I told him to stay in there so he would be safer. And to keep him from seeing...that." She glanced at the creature and swallowed before speaking into her earpiece. "We have a unconscious creature here in the east hall."

Becker's voice could be heard clearly now. _"I'll have someone there to pick it up after we take care of our own creature." _Ash nodded even though he couldn't see her.

Jackson opened the closet door and Mason sprung up from where he was sitting. "Time to go home." He said softly and took the child's hand. Glancing over his shoulder he saw Ash, giving him a puzzled look. He scowled at her in response and she just grinned.

︻┳═一 - - -*pew pew* - -

_A few minutes later._

"Can you take care of this?" Ash asked Jackson and gestured to Mason. "I've got to head back to check for any injuries."

"Of course I can," Jackson replied. "I can handle children, Harrison." Ash just rolled her eyes and walked back into the building. Jackson rolled his eyes back before turning to the sound of heels against the pavement.

The hysterical woman from before ran up to Mason and hugged him tightly. "You're safe!"

"Yes mum." The boy stood limp until she released him. Mason's mother looked up at Jackson.

"Thank you so much." She smiled at him with teary eyes. Jackson smiled back and was glad Ash or the others wasn't around...with a camera.

"No problem, ma'am." He said with a curt nod.

Mason's mother looked down at her son before looking back at Jackson. "Now this may sound strange, but may I get a photo of you together? If you're alright with it of course. It's just that Mason has always wanted to be a soldier. He talks about it all the time." She chuckled softly.

Jackson hesitated for a moment, then looked at Mason who beamed up at him. "Okay," He agreed and rested his hand on Mason's shoulder. The flash of the woman's camera went off and Mason darted back to his mother.

"Thank you." Mason's mother said with a soft smile and she led her boy away.

"Thank you, mister!" Mason said and waved before stopping, and saluting him instead. Jackson returned the salute and turned around to become face to face with Ash.

"No one was hurt." She replied to his stunned face. "And I saw that. You're good with kids, Jackson McKay. _Very _good_._ Never suspected it."

"Yeah, well..." He grunted. "You are pretty good with kids too."

Ash smiled at this. "That's because I have one. Alex, he's four. Ben, my husband, we love him to bits."

Jackson looked at her in surprise and she laughed again. He never knew she had a son or was married. Well, he never knew many personal things about anyone.

"There you go again, shocking me with your 'never seen before' expressions. You're actually a nice guy, admit it." Ash teased and whacked him on his good arm with her medical kit.

"Never." Jackson replied then looked up as Matt walked towards them.

"Good job. To the both of you. You two handled things well back there." he said in his Irish brogue.

"Thank you, sir." Both soldiers said in unison and Matt cracked a smile.

"I'll be seeing you around the ARC." With that he walked away.

Jackson glanced at Ash who grinned and he couldn't help but grin back. Ashlynn Harrison would probably be the only person to know that Jackson McKay _did_ have a nicer side to his dark demeanor, and he hoped to keep it that way. The rest of the soldiers gathered back to head to the ARC and he replaced the grin with his usual poker face.

Jackson didn't have many friends at the ARC, or in general, but Ashlynn was probably the closest to a friend he had in decades.

He had to tell Harold about this.

* * *

><p><strong>How did you like the first POV chapter? It will begin with a flashback and the rest will work on the character. <strong>It's like a character study. <strong>**

****Next will be... (picking by random now) Mr. Colin Darcy.****

****Oh and if you have any complaints with the friendship groupings then tell me. And if there is anyone you want to pair your OC with again, tell me. Only OC/OC please.****


	8. Night: Anomaly

The anomaly alert blared just as night shift came on duty, Caspar couldn't help feeling relieved that there was something to do besides patrol, CCTV and paperwork. It had been almost two weeks without an alert, and he knew his new recruits were anxious to try things out. Entering Main Ops he wasn't surprised to see it already crowded, he did a quick head count Chloe Meadows, Eric Novak, Jason Mattison , Alexis Chase, Maria Smith, Dallas MacKenzie, Annie Kane, Joshua Clemings and Lexi Carsons.

"Where's the anomaly?" Caspar asked Jess.

"Forest of Dean sir," Maria replied.

Caspar glanced at Jess who half-smiled back. This was the recruits first anomaly they couldn't be blamed for being over eager.

"There are three," Jason added, anticipating Caspar's next question.

"Well what are you waiting for, get ear pieces, black boxes and EMDs and make your way to the Forest of Dean. You'll receive further instructions when you get there."

They all whooped excitedly and made their way out, Tess just managed to scoot to the side before she got knocked over.

"Three anomalies at the Forest of Dean," Caspar said as Tess walked over to him.

"Wow, that's a first," she said raising her eyebrows in surprise Caspar nodded.

"Is your friend the puppy on duty?"

"Yeah I think so"

"Good, grab him, the two of you are coming with me."

* * *

><p><strong>Annie, Maria and Eric<strong>

"So, our first anomaly" Annie said almost nervously, fingers tapping the steering wheel as she drove.

"Finally, it's been long enough" Maria snarked, absent mindedly biting her finger nails.

Annie glanced in the rear view mirror, Maria was one of the few women at the ARC she actually got a long with mainly because they were both tomboys which meant instead of arguing over shoes they usually argued over which weapon was better. She looked over at Eric who was sitting next to her.

"You alright?" she asked, noticing he looked tense.

"I'm fine," he said, shifting slightly.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm just not that good with nature," Eric replied reluctantly, "especially the insects like spiders."

Annie looked it in the rearview mirror and saw Maria hide a smile similar to her own..

"Really? Spiders? Any reason?" Maria asked.

Eric shrugged "I just don't like them," in a tone which let them know he didn't want to be pushed about it. Maria picked up on it too because her next question changed the subject

"So what made you move to England?" He relaxed slightly as he thought of his Kara.

"Kara, my fiancé, met her when she was in New York visiting family." Eric didn't mind talking about Kara, but not wanting to be questioned further about his personal life, he saw an opportunity and changed the subject.

"Hey Annie, how come you joined the ARC you never said."

Annie tensed, "My brother was a member of the ARC security, he went missing three months ago. I joined hoping I can find out what happened to him."

Eric and Maria looked at her sympathetically.

She cleared her throat, "I hope it doesn't rain, the last thing we need is to deal with is creatures and mud," she said as rain drops splattered on the car windscreen

"I think you jinxed it." Eric commented.

**Joshua, Alexis and Jason**

"I've heard the dayshift have already dealt with a Raptor and a Dromaeosaurus." Jason said leaning back in his seat. "I'm hoping a Raptor comes through one of the anomalies or a T-Rex." he continued, causing Joshua to roll his eyes

"It depends on the size of the anomaly, Jason" he replied.

"Do we even know if there are any incursions yet?" Alexis asked.

"The ADD only picks up anomalies" Jason answered, "We won't know the incursion or how many until we get there. What kind of creature do you want Alexis?"

"All herbivores" Alexis decided,

Jason rolled his eyes "Lame, where's the danger in that?"

"Herbivores can be just as dangerous as Carnivores", Alexis stated, "I just don't have to worry about getting eaten on my first anomaly alert, _that_ would be lame." Jason scoffed.

"What about you Joshua?"

"I don't mind as long as it's not a prehistoric snake" he said glancing in the rearview mirror, he could've sworn Jason had looked nauseous when he said snake. "Not a fan of snakes either?"

"Was almost strangled by one as a baby"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you both if it's prehistoric snakes" Alexis said making both guys roll their eyes.

**Chloe, Lexi and Dallas**

How Dallas ended up in the car with two of his female co-workers he would never know, he wasn't good at talking to women, not like it mattered at the moment. Chloe and Lexi were busy talking to each other and he was quite content to look out the window.

"Earth to Dallas", Lexi called back to him.

He blinked a couple of times "Huh?"

"I said I think this is the first time there has been three anomalies at an alert." she repeated with a smirk.

Dallas nodded.

"The only other time I've heard of is at a prison, but that was only two." Lexi grinned. "The dayshift is going to be so jealous when they hear about this"

Chloe gripped the steering wheel a little tighter "So they're becoming more frequent and multiple. I wonder what's making them do it". A car cut in front of them forcing Chloe to hit the brakes quickly. "Fricking maniac" she muttered.

**Caspar, Rixon and Tess**

"Stop kicking the back of my seat Tesalia," Rixon warned, glancing in the rearview mirror.

"Stop driving like a lunatic then," she scowled.

"I'm not, the car slid because the roads are wet. If I wanted to drive like a lunatic I'd do this", he took a couple of bends in the road at a high speed.

Rixon was a Sergeant sent over by the Marines to learn about anomalies, he had earned the nickname of puppy for his excitable nature and boundless energy. He could also pull off a realistic puppy eyed look which had convinced Caspar to let him drive. Something he was beginning to regret.

"Are you trying to get us arrested?" Tess squeaked, kicking the seat in front of her once more. Caspar gripped his seat tighter

"Stop distracting him Tessie." He warned.

"Yeah Tesstastic, if you won't listen to me, listen to your boyfriend," Rixon goaded, he jerked forward as Tess' foot made contact with the back of his seat again.

She saw Caspar stare at her, and shrugged, "My foot slipped."

"That's enough. De Silva stop kicking the seat, Scott stop provoking her and keep your eyes on the road," he deliberately used their last names to let them know he wasn't impressed with their behaviour.

"Sorry sir," Rixon replied automatically.

"Sorry Vlad," Tess said, looking chastened.

"I've got a task for the both of you when we get to the anomaly site," he continued. "As you know it's the recruits first anomaly-"

"Aw they grow up so fast" Rixon interjected Caspar glared at him, "Listening attentively sir"

"I'm splitting them up into three groups to make searching for the anomalies and creatures easier. One will come with me and one with each of you. I want you to watch them, note how they behave, how well they work together, any problems etc, report back to me when we get back to the ARC.

"Sure no problem," Rixon nodded

"Of course." Tess agreed, as the car pulled up at the Forest of Dean.

Rixon grinned, "Got here first."

Caspar spotted a black SUV that Becker drove.

"No looks like we're second, Becker, Connor and Abby are already here" he said, getting out of the car and waiting for the other recruits to arrive.

* * *

><p>"Everybody listen up," Caspar called, watching the recruits snap to attention, "Captain Becker and the core team are already here and searching the Forest. One anomaly has been found up in the air, near the tree's branches."<p>

"Is there anyway of knowing if a creature has come through?" Alexis asked.

"No tracks to follow, so no," Caspar replied. "It could be a flying dino..." his thoughts trailed off to the Agnurognathus, basically flying piranhas that had attacked and killed his best friend, with effort he forced himself not to dwell on that, "So keep alert."

"It'll be easier to search so I'm splitting you up into three groups. Your main priority is searching for the creatures but you'll have a AHD with you as well. Do you all know what that stands for?"

"Anomaly Handheld Detector" Dallas replied.

"Good. If you find the other anomalies let the Captain or Temple know the location and wait there until they arrive to seal it before you continue looking for creatures." He gestured at Tess and Rixon in turn, "Corporal De Silva and Sergeant Scott have experience on the field and they'll be in charge of the AHD for this alert."

The recruits looked at the two new soldiers with mild interest, they'd seen them around but hadn't really spoken to them before.

"The first team with me are Lieutenant Meadows, Sergeant Clemings and Lieutenant Smith, the second team with De Silva are Corporal Kane, Corporal Novak and Lance Corporal Carsons and the third team with Scott are Lieutenant Chase, Sergeant Mattison, and Lieutenant MacKenzie."

As the recruits talked excitedly among themselves and split into groups, Rixon nudged Tess and jabbed a thumb over at Dallas. "Hah, I got the pretty boy, jealous?" She looked at the tall, blonde haired, blue eyed recruit and shrugged.

"Nah, I'm already dating a pretty boy," Tess replied said glancing at Vlad as he came over carrying the two AHDs, overhearing he raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, it's not you" she joked, and he rolled his eyes in response.

"I want the recruits to get as much creature experience as possible so if you come across any, hang back and let them deal with it. Only intervene if it's absolutely necessary, understood?" he told them handing one to Rixon.

"Yes sir." Rixon said taking it from him carefully and switching it on. Caspar turned to Tess.

"Understood?" He said more gently with a double meaning behind it _'be careful, stay alive'_. Tess' thumb grazed the back of his hand as she took the H.A.D from him _'I will, you too'. _It was a blink and you'll miss it moment, something you'd had to be watching them to notice. They turned to see Rixon watching them with amusement, he fluttered his eyelashes exaggeratedly at Tess. Caspar smirked and Tess pushed Rixon away a step.

"Sod off."

"Hey I outrank you!"

"Sod off, **sir**" she said sarcastically and Rixon pretended to be offended.

"I bet the creature my team finds is going to be so much cooler than yours" he called over his shoulder as he jogged over to them.

"This isn't a competition," Caspar called after him, he shared a weary smile with Tess and they walked over to their own teams.

* * *

><p><strong>Caspar's Team<strong>

"The day shift say Holland gives them stickers," Maria said conversationally as they walked.

"What kind of stickers?" Caspar asked amused.

"Ones that say 'I am Holland's minion'" she grinned while Chloe and Joshua chuckled.

"I'm sure he'll be giving stickers to you too, as he's Second-In-Commnd in his mind we're all his minions."

The recruits remained silent as they thought about that. The hair on the back of Caspar's neck was standing on end, he couldn't help feeling like they were being watched. He glanced up at the tree branches.

"Gross, gross, gross!" Maria exclaimed drawing the attention of the group on her "I do not want to know what I just stepped in." Her foot made a sickening squelching sound as she lifted it.

Chloe stifled a yawn, the rain had turned out to be a full on thunderstorm which made looking or even hearing creatures difficult. Caspar shone his EMD light on the thing Maria had stepped on, as Joshua walked over to take a look.

"Looks like something attacked a rabbit." He commented.

"I did **not** need to know that," Maria said hopping to a tree, picking up a fallen twig and scraping off the remains of it from the underside of her boot.

"Is it possible a creature from the anomaly did it?" Chloe asked.

"Maybe, although it could've been a fox" Caspar replied non-committally as he stepped away and to the left," the AHD in his hands started beeping, he gestured to Joshua, "Want to call it in?"

"Captain Becker this is Sergeant Clemings" Joshua spoke over his earpiece.

"What is it Sergeant?" Becker answered.

"We've detected an anomaly"

"Where?" Caspar pointed to the co-ordinates on the AHD and Joshua read them out.

As Joshua talked to Becker, Chloe shook her sodden hair out of its bun and wrung it out. She took a hairband out of her pocket opting to tie her hair into a loose ponytail, when it dropped out of her fingers that had almost gone numb from the cold. Leaning down to pick it up, something on the ground caught her eye, it looked like a footprint. She wasn't a tracker but something about the shape of it was setting off alarm bells, before she could get a closer look she vaguely heard a warning of 'Meadows duck!' from Caspar but before she fully understood the command Clemings was rugby tackling her to the ground.

Maria took a step forward but her foot slipped on the wet grass as she fired and the shot went wide missing something that was in the trees behind Chloe. Before Chloe could growl at Joshua to get off her, he had already rolled away and to his knees by her EMD, picking it up in one smooth movement and firing at the creature that jumped over Chloe's prone form. His shot hit it in mid-air and it fell to the ground unconscious.

The recruits breathed a collective sigh of relief, but Caspar remained alert. He scanned the area before turning his attention on Chloe, "Alright?"

"Yeah I think so," she responded.

"You have to pay more attention to what's going on around you" Chloe bit back a retort. "I think I've found something you should look at."

"In a minute," Caspar responded walking over to the fallen creature he prodded it with his EMD to make sure it was out.

"Looks like a smaller version of a Smilodon," Joshua said, he gestured to the rabbit, "I think we may have interrupted its dinner."

"I think it's a Hoplophoneus," Maria said, everyone gave her incredulous looks and she shrugged. "I've been reading up on prehistoric animals from Temple's database at the ARC They're about 4 foot long, long canines, smaller than a Smilodon so it can perch on tree branches and jump on prey."

"The anomaly near the tree branches, the creature could've come from there right?" Joshua asked.

Caspar nodded, "Smith check with Temple, you identified it."

Maria smiled gratefully and spoke to Connor on her earpiece.

"Sounds about right, from the Late Eocene-Early Oligocene, same period as we dated the anomaly in the tree branches from" Connor commented, "Tell Caspar to let the others know." Chloe beckoned Caspar over.

"Wait Temple there's one more thing," Caspar said on his earpiece.

"What?"

"A footprint," he took a photo of it with his mobile phone and sent it to Connor's phone.

"Hard to tell exactly what it is, but definitely a dinosaur not a present day creature." Connor replied.

A twig snapped. The recruits looked around,

"No, look up," Caspar instructed shining his EMD light on the tree branches, a pair of cat eyes only a lot larger reflected the light, another Hoplophoneus. It jumped down to a few lower tree branches, "It only takes one shot to take it down, who wants it?"

The recruits watched it cautiously as it made its way down to the last branch "Me," Chloe and Maria said at the same time.

Chloe remembered the previous meeting she'd had with Becker and Caspar about being a team player, "Smith can have it"

Maria nodded gratefully just as the creature made a leap the EMD shot, hit it spot on.

"Nice work, especially the catch with the footprint," Caspar said, "we better get these tree cats back to their anomaly," he added, as he contacted Rixon and Tess on the earpiece to let them know the new information.

**De Silva's team**

Tess listened to Caspar over the earpiece. "Okay got it. We've got prehistoric cats in the trees that like to perch on tree branches and jump down on their prey," she announced to the team.

"So basically it's raining prehistoric cats," Eric responded. "I wonder if prehistoric dogs that like to hunt from trees, have come from one of the other anomalies, then it'll be raining cats and dogs."

Annie groaned inwardly at the lame attempt to lighten the mood.

Lexi glanced over at Tess, "Corporal De Silva, how long have you been on field duty?"

"A while."

"Any tips for the newbies?" Annie asked while she watched the tree branches for predators.

"Most important and most obvious rule: try to not die."

"Only try?" Novak questioned, Tess shrugged.

"We have a good a medical team, if you die you could get lucky and be brought back to life. It happened to me."

Just then they heard a deep rumbling noise "Was that a creature or thunder?" Lexi enquired.

"Didn't sound like it came from overhead so I'd say creature," Tess replied, signalling for the others to approach quietly.

They peered through the trees to see two dinosaurs in the centre of a small clearing.

"What is it?" Lexi asked, keeping her voice low

"Looks similar to Dragon from the menagerie. A related species perhaps?" Annie replied.

"Kane, get Temple on your earpiece he may be able to identify it for us."

"10 feet long with bony protuberances? Sounds like a Stygimoloch to me" Connor said after listening to Annie's description. "Interesting fact according to new research, the skulls of juvenile pachycephalosaurs changed drastically as they aged. Long story short, it turns out that what scientists call Stygimoloch may in fact have been a juvenile Pacycephalosaurs"

"Um… okay," Annie replied hoping she sounded like she cared. She heard Captain Becker's voice in the back ground yelling at Connor to tell them something useful.

"Alright, action man, jeez, okay good news it's a herbivore, even better news we've found the anomaly it came from, try and lure them to this location, we'll see you soon."

"Thanks Temple," Annie said, then glanced at the rest of the team, "Herbivore," she said "We should try and lure it back to the anomaly it came from."

"Sounds good," Eric replied trying to ignore the tickling sensation on the back of his hand he glanced down just in time to see a spider make it's way across it, _I'm not going to freak out, I'm not going to freak out,_ he thought, the spider paused, … _Maybe just a little._

"What are you doing?" Lexi yelled, startled by Eric's sudden flailing.

The sound of her voice breaking the silence startled the two Stygimoloch and they ran in opposite directions. Annie didn't wait to be told she dashed after the one that had run to the left.

"Wait, Kane!" Tess called after her.

"It's getting away," Annie called back over her shoulder. Tess gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"Are you alright Eric?" Lexi asked.

"Yeah fine, just a spider."

"Good, you're with Kane," Tess instructed, "get your dino to the anomaly it came from. Lexi you're with me.."

Eric nodded and headed after Annie, while Lexi and Tess went in the opposite direction.

**Lexi and De Silva**

They didn't have to go far. Tess stopped running abruptly and Lexi skidded slightly trying to avoid barreling straight into her back. Tess pressed a finger to her lips and pointed to where the spooked Stygimoloch was eating some leaves from a tree as if it had never been disturbed. Lexi couldn't decide whether being young meant it had a short attention span or if it really was that hungry.

"Now what?"

"Trying not to upset it again is the first thing." Tess whispered and they watched as it turned.

"Herbivore right?" Lexi asked.

Tess nodded watching her curiously. Lexi walked over to the nearest tree and using the thunder as cover snapped off a tree branch.

"Cover me," she gestured for Tess to cover her incase the Stygimoloch attacked and walked forwards, holding the branch out. It took a step forward and reached for the

leaves Lexi took a step back making it walk forward following her.

"Back to the anomaly," Lexi mouthed and Tess nodded her head still keeping her EMD trained on it. Something moved in her peripheral vision, she turned but it was gone. Frowning she scanned the trees for prehistoric cats but didn't find anything. Shaking it off as just her imagination she followed Lexi, leading it back to the anomaly.

**Annie and Eric**

Annie prayed these things weren't built for speed like the running lizard the dayshift had encountered. It turned abruptly, its tail hitting her and sending her flying in one direction, EMD in the other, she hit the ground hard. It roared and took a step towards her lowering its head, she sat up and had the horrifying feeling it was going to ram her.

Eric skidded onto the scene he fired at the dinosaur attracting its attention and making it charge at him instead with such speed that Eric didn't have a chance to change the setting on his EMD to medium and fire again. He just managed to move out of the way in time so that the Stygimoloch rammed into the tree behind him instead. It stumbled around, a bit disoriented, and Eric used the distraction to move closer to Annie, he held out a hand to help her up which she ignored and she stood on her own, wincing.

"What happened?"

"Got hit by its tail, that's all. I'm fine." she snapped, picking up her EMD. "I didn't need your help I could've handled it on my own."

Eric considered arguing when Tess' voice came over the earpiece instructing them to use a tree branch to lure the creature to the anomaly. Eric and Annie exchanged a look. She shrugged, she wasn't interested in arguing.

"Sure worth a try." Eric broke off a tree branch shook it vigorously to scare off any spiders and started to lure the Stygimoloch away.

**Scott's Team  
><strong>

Rixon pulled a lollipop out of one of his pockets and tugged off its cellophane wrapping, the noise made everyone look at him. "I've brought enough to share," he offered unperturbed.

Alexis and Jason shook their heads.

"Nah I'm good thanks," Dallas, the guy Rixon had dubbed 'pretty boy' replied.

Rixon shrugged, unphased, "More for me then."

"So what part of America are you from?" Alexis asked.

"What makes you think I'm from America?" Rixon asked putting on an Irish accent.

"Sorry I-"

He grinned "Just messing with you I was born in Ireland, but grew up in Colorado"

"Okay," Alexis said trying not to sound too confused.

"So are alerts always as simple as just EMDing the creature and sending it back through the anomaly?" Jason asked.

Rixon licked his lollipop thoughtfully, "It depends on the size of the creature, the bigger and heavier they are, we prefer to find a way to make them go back through the anomaly on their own."

"Why?" Dallas asked shining his EMD light on the trees to see if the light would be reflected back by prehistoric cats eyes.

"It means we don't have to carry them back to the anomaly." Alexis scoffed.

"Yeah, right." Rixon raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not joking." before he could be questioned further a minature dino scuttled into their path. If it could be called a dino it had a small pot belly, gangly limbs, and unusually long, scythe-like claws on its front hands.

"Do we shoot it?" Dallas asked

"It's too little I think we may kill it" Rixon replied. It sniffed the air and seemed to yelp.

"Why is it making that noise?" Jason questioned.

"A warning or distress call maybe?" Dallas responded. Almost instantly when a much larger version of the small dinosaur in front of them came crashing through the Forest.

Jason back tracked as fast as he could to avoid the three foot long scythe like claws as the creature flailed its arms but fell back and hit his head on a rock making his vision hazy him.

"We can shoot that right?" Dallas asked gesturing at the bigger dino.

"Not yet," Rixon said, watching Matthew "Just wait until it's clear of Mattison. We don't want it falling on him."

Alexis fired a shot at the big dinosaur making it run away in to the Forest again. Rixon glared at her.

"I said not yet." Alexis shrugged unapologetically, "It was on low and it got the dino away from Mattison didn't it?"

"You can wait here with Mattison while we go after that dinosaur." Rixon retorted and Alexis scowled.

"Pretty boy, you're with me," Rixon gestured to Dallas and they dashed after the pot bellied dinosaur.

**Rixon and Dallas.**

They watched as the pot bellied dinosaur called out for its young.

"What is that thing?" Dallas asked "It's like something out of a science fiction movie."

"Or horror," Rixon replied, the sickle shaped claws reminded him of Freddie Kreuger for some reason. "Better ask Temple before we tackle this thing."

Dallas contacted Connor on his earpiece.

"You guys are so lucky, you've got the weirdest dinosaur ever in front of you." Connor said. "From what you've described it sounds like a Therizinosaur."

Dallas looked at the 3-foot long claws again "I'm not feeling the luck Temple" he replied.

"Relax it's a herbivore…mostly" Connor said.

"Mostly?"

"Well it's such a rare species no one actually knows for sure if it ate plants or meat so it's been classed as an omnivore.

"That's fantastic, thanks for the help Connor" Dallas said wryly, making Rixon raise an eyebrow at him.

"Omnivore," he replied. "Do we knock it out?" Rixon considered it.

"No it's going to be a pain dragging it back to its anomaly, maybe if catch the little one it won't be hard to get the big one to follow." Dallas reasoned.

"I like the way you think pretty boy," Rixon grinned at him. "Can you see the baby Therizinosaur anywhere?"

Suddenly a Hoplophoneus dropped down out of the tree above them and onto the Therizionsaurs' back, it thrashed around trying to get the mini Sabretooth off it.

"Try to get a clear shot at the prehistoric cat," Rixon told Dallas as they both aimed their EMDs.

The Therizinosaur gave a proper shake and the Hoplphoneus fell to the ground. As it tried to jump back up again Dallas fired and hit it point blank. The Therizinosaur kicked it once.

"Does it look injured?" Rixon asked, the Kreugersaurus (that's what Rixon had silently named it as it was more pronouncable) hoping they wouldn't have to knock it out.

"Can't see anything, I think all that flailing saved it." Dallas replied, "No sign of that little one though"

"Unless it's still in the same place we first saw it" Rixon said contacting Alexis on his earpiece.

**Alexis and Jason**

"Feeling better?" Alexis asked Jason as he sat up slowly.

"Yeah I think so. Were those things real or did I hit my head harder than I thought?" he asked, his fingers touched the back of his head but came away clear of blood.

Alexis listened to Rixon on her earpiece, "They were real, called Therizionsaurs the baby one may still be around here somewhere."

The bushes nearby rustled.

"We need to catch it so Scott and MacKenzie can lure its mother back to the anomaly they came from." Alexis said quietly, "Do you feel up to it?"

Jason nodded slowly, "I think so."

She gave him a hand to help him up and gestured to the bush. As one they jumped on it but the baby Therizionsaurs found a gap and ran through.

"We should've checked if the bush had thorns before we jumped on it," Jason said carefully extricating himself from it.

"Hindsight does make things a lot easier," Alexis replied glaring at the Therizionsaurs.

"I have an idea," Jason said, then lay on the ground like he was asleep.

"What are you doing?" Alexis asked amused.

"Shhhh just watch,"

The baby Therizionsaurs tilted its head curiously and moved closer to Jason when it was centimetres away he grabbed it. It squawked and squirmed trying to get away. Thinking quickly Alexis ripped a strip off the bottom of her shirt and tied it over the dinosaurs eye, calming it.

"To save your hands from those claws," she explained.

"Thanks." Jason smiled at her, "So where are Scott and Mackenzie?"

The baby Therizionsaur started its distress call again,

"I think they're going to find us, quick we better get this back to its anomaly so the mother goes straight there." Alexis said.

"Sounds like a plan," Jason said, getting up and following her.

* * *

><p>There was a knock on Caspar's office door.<p>

"Come in," he called looking up from his paperwork. Tess and Rixon walked in. "Anything to report?"

"They seemed to work well together from what I saw, they stayed focused and followed what I said well, although I did have an issue with Alexis." Rixon told him.

"Go on," Caspar said.

"She did the opposite of what I told her to do it may just have been because she had a problem with being told what to do by someone with a lower rank than hers." Rixon said.

"I'll keep that mind, Scott." Caspar turned to Tess.

"Good points are pretty much the same as Rixon, the new recruits are quick thinking and resourceful, Kane did cause me some concern with the way she just ran after that Stygimoloch without making sure she had back up first. Novak mentioned that she kept saying how she could've handled it on her own after she got hurt." Caspar frowned slightly as he listened, that would be a problem.

"Anything else?"

They both shook their heads.

"Then you can go, I appreciate the help today."

"I'll meet you out front at the end of your shift," Tess said before she turned to leave.

Rixon punched her lightly on the arm, "Told you my team's creature would be cooler than yours, are you jealous now?"

Tess tripped him as he walked out the door. He stumbled but managed to recover.

"I'm taking that as a yes."

Caspar leaned back in his chair and smiled. There were some issues that needed to be dealt with but this alert had gone pretty smoothly, and hopefully they would continue to do so.


	9. Day: Colin Darcy

**Name: _Colin Darcy_**

**Age and Birthplace: _23, Dublin_**

**Gender: _M_**

**Rank: _ Lance Corporal _**

**Appearance: _5'7", thick dark brown hair, green eyes, gangly_**

**Notes: _**Clumsy, Nervous, Sweet, Hazardous to Equipment**_**

* * *

><p><em>"Colin?... Colin, Colin, Colin, Colin!"<em>

_"Yeah?" His eyes were still glued on the television screen as he maneuvered his character through a crowd of animated people. From the corner of his eye he saw his younger sister trying to get him to look at her. "What do you want Kelly?" Colin asked without taking his eyes off his game._

_"There's a girl that wants to talk with you." Kelly said, leaning against the door frame._

_"Tell her I'll call back later." Colin replied._

_Kelly rolled her eyes like a normal teenager would. "She's not on the phone, dummy. She's waiting on the porch."_

_Colin stared at his sister before ditching his X-Box, fixing his hair with the aid of a mirror, throwing something decent on, and rushing to the front door, all in a record speed. He passed by his sister in the hall who wished him good luck sarcastically before heading into the kitchen where she could watch the whole thing._

_Colin slowed his run to a walk as he approached the door. One of the girls from his chemistry class stood there, smiling at him. It so happened to be the girl he had a massive crush on._

_"Hi, Colin." She said with a small smile. "Sorry to bother you but do you have the notes from last class? I was away that day."_

_"O-of course. You know me, notes, writing...yeah." He ended lamely. "Be right back." Colin dashed past his sister and into his room. He re-emerged minutes later and dashed back to the girl where __he handed her several pages, all with neat handwriting on them._

_"So... I was wondering..." Colin stammered. "Uh, If you would, you know, if you wanted to because I wouldn't forc-" The sound of a car honking drew his attention to the streets._

_"Sorry, Colin. My boyfriend is waiting. I'll see you at school?" The girl smiled at him one last time before heading towards the source of the honking. Colin retreated into his home and glumly headed back to his videogame._

_Kelly snickered as he passed by. "Smooth."_

_He rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair._

Colin broke out of his daydream as he felt his mobile vibrate once. A text message. From who? He dropped the pen he was chewing and reached into his pocket to withdraw his phone.

_Are u at the ARC? -V_

He blushed slightly as he thought of Vikki and texted back.

_Yes. Why? -Colin_

_I was wondering... -V_

Colin stared at his phone as he replied.

_Wondering...? -Colin_

_Wondering if you saw a little greyish black feathered dino running around. -V_

Colin's heart sank a bit as he texted back, glancing around the office he shared with a few of the other rookies.

_No? What happened? -Colin_

_A few of those creatures that the night group caught a few days ago escaped their enclosure. Not many, just 4. We have 3 of them back but the last bugger's fast. -V_

_Okay, I'll help look. Where's everyone else? -Colin_

_Great! Jackson and Maxwell are also looking for it with me. The rest either have their mobile's off or are with the core team at the latest anomaly site. -V_

_Good luck. -Colin_

_Thx. You too! :) -V_

Colin slipped his phone back into his pocket and sighed as he ambled out into the hall. It's been almost two months since they've started working at the ARC. He was used to the anomalies and strange creatures now. Sort of.

He felt his phone in his pocket and sighed again. He liked Vikki. Like..._like_ like. She probably didn't notice, but she did notice Maxwell. Maxwell was oblivious to it all and either way he had his eyes set on Evelyn Solomarn. And they said Colin was the oblivious one.

What was he thinking? A girl like Vikki and him? Not a chance. Colin was that geeky kid that was into Star Wars. The guy that stuttered when public speaking. The guy that never really had a proper girlfriend.

The sound of scuttling feet brought him back to reality. A small feathered creature, much like a small bird, stood in the middle of two intersecting halls a few feet away from Colin. Just like Vikki had described it.

The prehistoric bird flapped it's wings and pecked at the ground for a non-existent food source. Colin moved stealithly with his back against the corridor wall as he advanced towards it's unsuspecting back.

He paused as the bird froze and decided it was now or never. Colin lunged towards it, sadly at the exact same time as another black clad soldier. The two crashed at an awkward angle and the bird wisely chose to make it's escape.

"Watch it!" The figure snapped and turned to look at him. Colin backed under Jackson's icy glare.

Vikki jogged up behind him with Maxwell. She adjusted her glasses and looked at the two. Colin personally thought her purple glasses were cute no matter how much she hated them.

"Did you guys find it?"

"Yeah, and that idiot messed everything up." Jackson said gesturing towards Colin.

"What? It's not my fault."

"Yes it is."

"It's-it's the birds fault."

Jackson scoffed and was about to retort when Maxwell intervened to Colin's delight.

"Can we concentrate on finding this thing? I mean, what if Lester saw it running around? He'll blame it on us." Maxwell prodded Jackson. "C'mon. If we go down this hall, and Colin and Vikki goes down that one we can circle it."

"Okay! Let's go find the Anchiornis, Colin." Vikki sang. She took his hand and pulled him down the opposite hall. He was too busy taking in that she was holding his hand and almost missed the feathery blur that ran past one of the halls.

Colin dug his heels into the ground stopping Vikki from dragging him any further. She opened her mouth to say something but he yanked her in the direction of the Anchiornis before she could say it.

They darted down the hall and around the corner and the feathered creature came into view, running in the opposite direction of the pair. It suddenly stopped and began looking around. They both knew it would dash off soon.

"Quiet." Colin put a finger to his lips signaling for Vikki to be silent. She nodded. He beckoned for her to follow him as he approached the bird quietly, arms outstretched and ready to snatch up the creature. The plan he envisioned was ruined as the prehistoric bird turned it's tiny head slowly and stared at him.

It must have had the ability to sense fear because it didn't charge off.

Colin swallowed nervously and descended to the ground, his arms still reaching out for the bird. It stared. He gulped.

He closed in on it slowly and soon enough had the Anchiornis on his lap, stroking it's feathers.

"It's actually pretty cute," Vikki said, smiling down at the two.

"Yeah. He's kinda like my pet chicken back home." Vikki shot him a strange look and his face reddened slightly. "My uncle owned a farm." He explained and lowered his head towards the prehistoric bird like creature to hide his embarrassment.

Soon enough the Anchiornis was running around it's enclosure with the others of his kind. Colin watched it dart about with Vikki. She was rambling on about how amazing it was to be working with these creatures but Colin wasn't listening. He glanced around the menagerie and found it completely empty. In his mind he was formulating a master plan to ask her out. He double checked, triple checked even, for any faults but couldn't find any.

At last he was satisfied. Colin turned around to Vikki was was looking into the enclosure, still talking.

"Hey, Vikki." He said interrupting her speech. She blinked at him.

"Yes?"

He began stammering. "I was wondering...Will yo- I mean, would you want to-" The number one fault he had forgotten; he was _terrible_ at talking to girls.

The anomaly alert began blaring in the halls, cutting him off. Vikki glanced over her shoulder before looking back at Colin. "We can talk later." She said and patted his shoulder before running towards the armoury, leaving Colin alone with the creatures.

He swore they were laughing at him. Colin dragged himself out of the menagerie and trudged towards the armoury. He could have a chance if he tried, he just needed to try harder. Straightening up, Colin strode towards the armoury. He was going to ask her out even if it killed him.

Just as he entered the armoury she walked out, briefly smiling at him. Colin turned around, about to follow her when Jackson purposely shouldered him into the door frame as he passed by.

Maybe later.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Writers Block so chapters may take forever. Any guesses on the game he was playing?**


	10. Night: Annie Kane

Annie Kane sat curled up on her couch, legs tucked underneath her, reading _State of Fear _by Michael Crichton. Downtime had been rare since starting the ARC, but when she got it, she loved to read science fiction novels.

Her grandmother had more than once told her that it was a passed down trait, apparently her father had loved science fiction as well. She sighed at the thought of her parents, they had been killed when she was a little girl, a car accident. Her and her older brother had been in the car too, but they had survived, it had been a head on collision and they had been in the backseat. All Annie could remember about the accident was bright lights and the sound of crushing metal.

Now, not only had she lost her parents but her brother, who had gone missing three months prior during an anomaly. Mike was the reason she joined the ARC, she wanted answers, to know how her brother had just disappeared without a trace. In the line of work they did, she'd quickly come to understand it. The night shift's last anomaly, had been three anomalies, and the team had been spread thin. It was easy to lose someone in those circumstances.

Annie lay her book down and sighed again. _You need a distraction, _she thought to herself, glancing at the clock.

It wasn't that long before her shift, just over an hour. She went into her bedroom and changed into her black uniform, pulling her strawberry blonde hair into a ponytail. She laughed, dressed like this, she actually looked the part of a soldier and not the sci-fi nerd she really was.

Once she got to the ARC, she headed to the office she shared with Dallas MacKenzie. The night shift recruits had been given three offices, two of them were shared by two recruits, the third by three. Annie was thankful she wasn't the one in the third office, she didn't like being cramped. She was also quite glad it was Dallas she shared an office with, he was quiet a lot of the time, and seemed a bit shy, but when she did get him talking, he was easy to carry on conversation with.

When Annie sat down at her desk, she almost didn't notice the note lying there. It wasn't until she went to get White Out for a report that she noticed it.

_Corporal Kane,_

_Please report to my office immediately upon arrival._

_Captain Becker_

Annie took a deep breath, assuming it was involving the fact she had chased after a creature without back up during the last anomaly. She had already been reprimanded by Lieutenant Caspar, she wasn't looking forward to getting it again from the Captain, but made her way to his office and knocked.

"Come in," he called.

When she entered, she found Jess Parker sitting on the edge of his desk, a folder lay between them, but neither acknowledged it. Jess was talking softly him and he looked… distant, upset, Annie couldn't quite place it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, I got your note, Captain…I can come back."

"No, it's fine Corporal, Ms. Parker and I were just going over some information I'd requested."

Jess stood and quickly squeezed the top of his hand, before turning to leave. As she passed she gave Annie a small smile. Something was off, Jess' greetings were normally bright and cheerful, today, the smile had been weak, and she'd seen something flicker in the young girl's eyes.

"Please have a seat," Becker told her.

"Sir, what is going on?" she asked, lowering herself into the chair across from his desk.

"Michael Kane was found today…"

"What! Where is he?" she asked, a smile spreading across her face, as she darted to her feet.

"Ms. Kane," Becker stood quickly and put his hand on her shoulder.

That was when Annie noticed the difference in the Captain, his normal black fatigues, the ones they all wore, had been replaced by a crisp, pressed dress uniform. She shook her head slowly, she'd grown up in the military, most of her friends were from military families as well, and she knew that his being dressed that way, only meant one thing…

"No, please no, he's not…"

Becker helped her over to the couch and sat beside her.

"A couple hikers discovered his remains last night, it seems a creature got a hold of him and drug him off. I'm sorry Ms. Kane," he said softly.

Annie nodded slowly, refusing to lose her composure in front of the Captain.

"I take it you're heading to tell my grandparents?" she whispered.

"Yes, I just wanted you to know first."

"Thank you, Captain," she replied, walking over to the window and staring out.

"You've been cleared from duty today," she heard him say, the sound of his footsteps fading as he left the room.

She didn't stay long, and when she walked out of his office she saw him in the Ops Room, with Jess, the two holding each other in a caring embrace. Jess' head rested against his chest and his chin rested on her head, his eyes closed.

Annie walked slowly back to her office, the truth was in that moment, she envied the Captain and Jess their relationship, friendship, whatever it was. The embrace she'd witnessed had made her realize how truly alone she was now.

She rounded the corner and literally ran into Chloe Meadows.

"I'm sorry, Chloe," she said quickly, struggling to keep her composure.

"It's fine, I don't think either of us were paying attention," she replied, pausing when she caught sight of the other recruits face, "Annie…are you alright?"

"Fine," she said quickly, "Absolutely…not fine. I just found out my brother's dead."

* * *

><p>Chloe paled, she rarely talked to her fellow recruits, but she knew Annie's brother had gone missing, just like hers, and this was the kind of news they both dreaded and expected, every day.<p>

She hugged the younger recruit, "I'm sorry Annie."

Annie's back was turned to Dallas as he walked up on the two girls hugging, he met Chloe's eyes and raised an eyebrow questioningly, worry gracing his features.

"Her brother's body was just discovered," Chloe mouthed silently.

His eyes widened, and he stepped forward tentatively.

"Annie?" he said quietly.

She let go of Chloe and turned, trying to force a smile.

"Hey Dallas," she said softly.

Chloe took her distraction as a reason to walk away, needing to gather her own thoughts.

Dallas led Annie to their office and sat beside her on the edge of the couch. Then, he waited, knowing if she wanted to talk, she would.

"I can't believe he's gone," she said finally, voice almost inaudible, "I knew…I assumed…but to have it confirmed."

He wasn't good at this sort of thing, but he pulled her to him and held her, soon feeling dampness soak through his shirt as she cried. Dallas didn't speak, he just held her, stroking her hair.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, pulling back.

"It's fine Annie, you just lost your brother, I don't…I don't mind." he assured her.

"Can I ask you something, Dallas?"

He nodded, "Of course."

"Do you ever wonder if we made the wrong decision? If what we do here is worth it?"

"I think we all have, especially after that first anomaly, realizing what was at stake, what could have happened."

"I came here, because I wanted to understand what happened to my brother, what he was doing, why it was so important to him. Now I do, and it scares me, Dallas. Is the same thing that happened to him, what's going to happen to all of us?" she questioned aloud.

"What we do here is dangerous, Annie, and I won't lie… what happened to your brother could very well happen again, but we also have to consider the people we're helping, what would happen if these dinosaurs were just left to roam."

"I know, I know this is all for the greater good, or whatever, but it scares me, now more than ever. Does that make me weak?"

* * *

><p>Dallas hated seeing her questioning herself, she was a great soldier and normally incredibly strong and stubborn, he admired her for that.<p>

"No, it doesn't…" he started, "You're allowed to question things, what matters is if you walk away."

"I'm not, I'm not going to walk away. Like I said, I'm just scared."

"Everyone gets scared, but the fact that you're staying, that's what's important, that's what makes you anything but weak."

She smiled weakly, "Thanks Dallas," she said, hugging him.

"Why don't you let me drive you home, get some rest," he offered.

"I can drive, it's fine…" she started, only to be cut off.

"I'd feel better if you let me, please."

"Thank you, Dallas," she said, going over and grabbing her jacket.

The drive to her flat was mostly silent, Annie lost in her thoughts and staring out the window and Dallas not wanting to press her to talk more if she didn't want to. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence at all, and honestly Dallas didn't mind, he'd never been good at talking to girls anyways, let along comforting them.

When they arrived at her flat, he walked her to the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow Dallas," she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and kissing his cheek, "Thanks for being there today."

She went inside after that, leaving Dallas touching the spot on his cheek where she'd kissed and staring at the door.


	11. Day: Evelyn Solomarn

**Name: _Evelyn Solomarn_**

**Age and Birthplace: _22, Manchester_**

**Gender: _F_**

**Rank: _Private_**

**Appearance: _Fairly short, Dark brown hair and eyes, Pale_**

**Notes: _Does ballet. Enjoys chick flicks. Stubborn. Sharp shooter._**

* * *

><p><em>"And then she told him it wasn't her fault but he didn't believe her. Oh my god, these two have the worst relationship problems. The WORST. Don't you think, Evie?"<em>

_"Yeah, they should just break up to save everyone else from having to listen to them." Evelyn replied as she listened to her best friend talk endlessly about the latest school gossip. Dianne nodded seriously._

_"I agree. You could see the tension in the air. And this went on for like 15 minutes it was just insane!" _

_She tuned out her friend as they walked along the sidewalk, their school becoming further and further away. Evelyn shivered as she felt the fall breeze and adjusted her purse. Walking home from school on a chilly fall day wasn't fun. She couldn't wait until she could afford a car._

_ Evelyn sighed and glanced up just as a raindrop hit her eye._

_"-so I was just standing there. It was so awkward. They completely forgot about me. Completely. So when they were done yelling at each other they just left in different directions, leaving me to stand in the middle of the hall." Dianne stopped talking for a moment. "Hey, Evelyn. Are you alright?"_

_Evelyn turned her head. "Just cold, that's all. And it looks like it's going to rain." Just as she said that it began to pour. The two pulled their hoods over their heads in an attempt to keep dry._

_"We could cut through that street. There's a bit more people because of the shops but we'll get out of the rain faster." Dianne suggested, hitching her bag higher on her shoulders._

_At the time it sounded like a good idea so she agreed. "Alright."_

_They headed down the street quickly, maneuvering themselves in and around crowds of shoppers. It was not until they were crossing an intersection when they heard the gunfire. Cars began speeding up dangerously weaving through the traffic and people. Evelyn pulled back her friend just as a SUV sped by._

_"What's going on?" Dianne asked, slight panic in her voice. _

_Just as Evelyn was about to say 'I don't know', a masked man appeared out of the store in front of them. He was shouting something but he was talking too fast for Evelyn to comprehend. All she could do was stare in shock. Dianne was also frozen in place._

_Then she realized what was happening. It was an armed robbery._

_Even 16 year old Evelyn knew what to do at a time like this. Run. She was about to yell at Dianne to move but just as she turned to her friend another shot rang out. And Dianne collapsed to the ground._

_Evelyn felt time slow as she watched the blood pool. Immediately she dialed emergency services and bent down towards her friend, putting pressure on the wound to her stomach. Soon she heard the wail of the sirens as the ambulance got closer. The masked men had already disappeared when they arrived._

_The ambulance pulled up beside the curb and the paramedics checked on Dianne, ushering Evelyn away towards the police. A cop was asking her questions and she was trying to answer as best as she could, but she was distractedly checking over his shoulder where she could see the backs of a few medics._

_Soon he left, taking notes, leaving Evelyn standing behind a yellow tape. After a few long minutes the paramedics parted, revealing a blue body bag._

* * *

><p>Evelyn slammed her locker door. The sound echoed throughout the empty locker rooms. She was probably one of the few from the day shift still there, most of the other soldiers had left almost an hour ago. Becker had her doing inventory which kept her from leaving on schedule. She scowled. Wasn't it also his job to do inventory?<p>

She exited the room and made her way to the outdoor car lot. Evelyn sighed when she saw the rain falling outside through the glass doors and winced when she heard the thunder. A storm was coming.

Evelyn pushed open the doors and ran out, wishing that she had a hood. No, she wished that she had parked indoors. If she hadn't forgotten her parking money at home, she wouldn't have had to go out in the rain.

She slowed her run to a jog as she approached the sidewalk. The parking lot was on the other side of the building.

Sighing, Evelyn looked up at the grey sky. It was only six o'clock in the evening yet it was dark. Fat raindrops fell onto her face and Evelyn couldn't help but think of Dianne. They had never caught the men that killed her.

Evelyn quickened her pace, shifting her bag closer to her body. The faster she got to the car, the faster she could escape the rain. The sound of thunder filled her ears and she walked even faster, not noticing the large puddle a few feet in front of her until it was too late.

"Shoot." She muttered and glanced at her pant leg that was splattered with muddy water. Evelyn bent down to examine it and in the process dropped her purse. It's contents splayed out on the wet concrete.

Convinced it was all bad luck, she began throwing everything back into her bag, muttering under her breath.

Suddenly, she didn't feel the rain anymore. She could still hear the rain hitting the concrete-still see it hitting the concrete- but she couldn't feel it. Evelyn turned her head and looked up.

Maxwell smiled crookedly back down, his hand extended holding a black umbrella over her head. Wordlessly, he outstretched his free hand towards her. She took it.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, poking him in the chest.

"Same thing as you. I work here." He replied, looking mock hurt.

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "No, what are you doing here now?"

Maxwell shrugged. "You know, this and that. Was doing some voluntary work with Co- Darcy and Lovell for one of the higher ups."

"Oh, so where are they?" Evelyn noticed she was still holding his hand and released it as casually as possible. She was glad they hadn't fixed the exterior lighting or he would have noticed her blushing.

He shrugged again and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Still inside. Colin told me to meet him outside and that he needed to get his umbrella. But when I left he was talking to Vikki." He paused for a moment, hiding a grin. "I have time. Want me to walk you to your car?"

"No thanks." Evelyn replied coolly. She glanced at the rain and wondered if her pride was worth it.

"Are you sure about that? Hm?" He nudged her multiple times and she laughed.

"Fine." She replied with a dramatic sigh. Maxwell smiled and extended the arm holding the umbrella. Evelyn looped hers through it and they walked together towards her car, free from the rain.

Maxwell took one step in front of her, still holding the umbrella over her head, and opened the car door, even adding a little bow. Evelyn couldn't help but smile as she got in.

"Thanks, Max." She said through the window.

"No problem." He replied and glanced over his shoulder where Colin and Vikki stood huddled under one umbrella, shouting at him. "I have to go. We're going to catch a movie and they don't want to be late. See you around?" He said it more like a question rather than a statement.

Evelyn nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you around." He grinned back and waved as she pulled out of the lot.

She had to admit; Maxwell Johnson was something else.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the short chapter. Updates may take a while, school starts soon. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	12. Night: Eric Novak

"_How can I help you, sir?" one of the nurses asked, as he approached the desk._

"_I'm looking for Donna Novak's room," Eric replied, glancing around uncomfortably, he hated hospitals._

"_Are you family?" the nurse asked, as she accessed the computer._

"_Her son."_

_The woman nodded, "Kara," the woman called, to a redhead nearby, who immediately came running, "Please show Mr. Novak here to room 318."_

"_Of course, right this way, sir," she said, a British accent prominent in her voice._

"_Eric, you can just call me Eric," he told her._

"_Alright, Eric it is. I'm Kara, one of the volunteers here," she said brightly._

"_Nice to meet you, Kara," he said, "How long ago did you move to America?" he inquired._

"_I didn't, I'm here visiting family. My cousin was volunteering too this summer and talked me into doing so as well."_

_Kara led him into the room marked 318 and Eric froze. When he'd received the phone call that his father had been killed in a car accident and his mother was in critical condition, he'd been granted immediate leave from basic training. He'd enlisted in the Army two weeks prior._

"_Do you know what her condition is?" he asked, eyes transfixed on the wires and tubes connected to her._

"_I don't, I'm sorry. I can get the doctor for you, though," she offered._

"_Please," he said, turning to face her briefly._

"_I'll make sure he's right in," she said, leaving the room._

Eric let out a sigh as he thought back to that day. That week had been both the best and worst of his life. He'd lost his parents, his father killed instantly, and his mother dying from an internal bleeding three days later, but he'd met Kara. She hadn't had any idea the impact she'd had on him. Neither had he, until he'd found himself moving to England after completing his first year of enlistment in America.

He'd enlisted in the British military, his time split between training and searching for Kara, who he'd managed to track down six months after moving to England.

"Novak, yo, Novak," a voice called, a hand waving in front of his face.

Snapped from his thoughts and caught off guard, he grabbed the persons wrist and flipped them to the ground.

"What the hell was that for?" Jason Mattison asked from his current position on the floor.

"You of all people, should know not to startle a soldier," he said, pulling him up by the wrist he still held, "Did you need something?"

"There was a creature sighting, no anomaly though, or no alert anyways. Caspar wants me, you and Maria to go provide backup, the Captain is already there."

"Right," he said, heading to the armory to get an EMD.

"What had you so distracted?" Mattison asked, following him.

"Just thinking," he replied.

"Always Mr. Cryptic, aren't you?"

"Yep," he said, grabbing his EMD and heading to the trucks, leaving Jason trailing behind him.

When they reached the truck, Maria was waiting on them.

"Evening boys," she called.

"Maria," Eric said with a nod, "How are you?"

"Good, you?"

"I'm good," he replied, as they all scrambled into the truck.

The ride was filled mostly by Jason and Maria's chatter, Eric adding input occasionally as he drove. Just as they pulled into the location, Jess' voice came over the coms.

"Corporal Novak, Becker's location is three kilometers west, 5 kilometers north, he's spotted the creature, what's your ETA?"

"We just pulled up," he replied, grabbing equipment from the truck, and tossing EMDs to Jason and Maria, before taking off in the direction Jess had indicated.

"Don't bother waiting for us or anything," Maria griped from several paces behind.

"Keep up!" he bit back, sharply.

When they reached the coordinates Jess had given, they were greeted by the sight of Becker surrounded by several dodos. Eric couldn't help but laugh, drawing Becker's attention.

"We were expecting something a bit more ferocious," Eric called.

"I was expecting _a _creature, not seven," he retorted sarcastically.

He heard Jason yell he was going back to the trucks for a couple transport crates as he and Maria moved in closer.

"Make sure the EMD's are on low, we don't want them killed," Becker said, "Just good luck catching them."

"And don't let them bite you," Jess' voice came over the coms, "I just checked Connor's database, apparently we had a parasite issue with some dodo's a long time ago."

"Alright, thanks Jess," Becker said, firing at one, just as a second darted underfoot, causing him to trip and fall, flat on his back, "I hate these things," he muttered, getting to his feet.

Eric could hear Maria laugh this time, and it was honestly everything Eric could do not to. By the time Jason got back with the crates, they had managed to take three of them down. Jason and Eric laughed as one came up behind Maria, who was crouched trying to get to one in a thicket of bushes, and began tugging her hair with it's beak. Eric watched, EMD readied as Jason snuck up and grabbed it, tossing it in with the other three. This was one of the most amusing creature incursions yet.

"Four down, two to go," Jason sighed.

It didn't take them too long to get the other two rounded up, and then they were headed back to the ARC. Eric had Jason drive so he could text Kara and let her know he'd be later than planned, now that they had to get the dodos squared away. The truck was mostly silent, the three team members too tired to do much talking after the days events. It was something Eric was glad of as it seemed every time he was alone with his team members, they had used it to question him about his past, something he didn't like talking about. It had taken him months to even open up to Kara.


	13. Day: Ashlynn Harrison

**Warning: A bit on the angsty side. I felt like I should kill someone.**

* * *

><p><strong>Name: <em>Ashlynn Harrison<em>**

**Age and Birthplace: _26, St. Albans_**

**Gender: _F_**

**Rank: _Lieutenant (field medic)_**

**Appearance: _5'7', golden/brown hair, grey eyes_**

**Notes: _Quiet. Optomistic. Reacts quickly to those that are injured. Family over Job. Reckless._**

* * *

><p><em>She was going to be a doctor. Even when she was a kid, only 6 years old, Ashlynn Harrison's dream job was to be a doctor. <em>

_Now, she was still going to be a doctor. Only on slightly different terms._

_"Mum. Dad." Ash walked into her family living room where her parents were. Her mother was reading a book quietly by the window. Her father was watching some program on the human nose, his eyes showing he wasn't at all interested though he usually found documentaries exciting. _

_The death had affected them both. But it affected Ash the most._

_"Yes, honey?" Her mother said without taking her eyes off of her book. Ash knew she wasn't reading it because she hadn't flipped the page in the five minutes she was watching her. _

_"Hm?" Was all her father said and lit his cigarette. _

_Ash swallowed thickly before speaking. "I'm going to join the army." She stated bluntly. _

_"What?" Her parents snapped their heads towards her in unison. Her mother's eyes were wide and more afraid than shocked. Her father's eyes were angry. She knew the reaction was going to be bad, but not this bad._

_She swallowed again. "I'm not going to be a soldier, not really. Just a field medic. You wanted me to be a doctor so I'll be a doctor. Where they need doctors most." Ash had rehearsed it over and over in her mind for days ever since he died._

_"We wanted you to be a proper doctor, Ashlynn. In a hospital." Her mother said in a tone she used on her students. Being a teacher she was authorized to use that voice whenever she wanted to. _

_"And after-... No. No Ashlynn." Her father shook his head. "You're not joining the army."_

_He was thinking of her brother. His son. The young man that was killed on duty._

_Ash wanted to do this FOR her brother. She wanted to join up to help others that were dying saving their country._

_"Fine." She said, knowing that a argument wouldn't do anything. Ash turned around and marched out of the living room._

_She joined the army._

* * *

><p>"Mommy." A small voice broke the silence and Ashlynn turned her head away from the window displaying the sun rising in the horizon. A small boy stood a few feet away from her, still in his pajamas. He had light brown hair, something from her side, and light green eyes, courtesy of his dad.<p>

"Morning, Alex." Ash offered him a small smile and walked away from the window towards him.

"Are you going to work?"

"I was just leaving." She said and kneeled to the ground. He wrapped his small arms around her and she hugged him back. "Don't worry, honey. I'll be back tonight as usual. I promise."

"Okay." Ash heard him yawn and said "Why don't you go back to bed? It's 5 in the morning. Here, I'll take you." He smiled as she took his hand. He had his dad's smile.

She led him to his room across from hers and ushered him into his rocket-ship bed. Alex snuggled deep into the covers, eyes blinking as he waited for her to tuck him in. Ash kissed his nose and tucked the blanket around her four year old son, listening to his sigh of content. Soon he was back asleep and probably wouldn't wake until later in the morning.

Ash kissed her son's head softly before silently backing out of his room, shutting the door as quietly as possible. She turned around and had to clamp a hand over her mouth to muffle a shriek.

"Don't scare me like that, Ben!" She hissed half-playfully, trying not to wake up Alex.

Her husband laughed musically and pretended to wince in pain when she smacked his arm. "I wasn't trying to." He glanced at her black uniform. "Come on, I'll 'walk' you to the door." Ben smirked at the last bit, green eyes sparkling. Ash just smiled, a bit sadly as she followed him.

He maneuvered his wheelchair expertly around Alex's discarded toys until he made it to the front door. Ash stopped and kissed him on the lips before opening the door. "See you tonight, Ben."

Ben smiled up at her, hands rested on the pale blue blanket covering his legs. "I'll keep Alex entertained until you get back." He said with a small laugh and she couldn't help but smile as she headed to the lift.

Ben had been injured doing his job as a soldier in the army. He was shot from the side by a expert sniper, the bullet hitting a part of his knee cap. Luckily he had recovered after a few surgeries, but the doctors had forced him into a few months of medical leave and a wheelchair. Two things that Ben hated but couldn't do anything about.

Ash hated seeing him like that but it couldn't be helped. At first, when they had told her he had been hurt she had worried that it would play out like it had with her brother. She was so relieved when they told her all he needed was rest and limited movement with his legs for the road to recovery.

At least they had Alex or else Ben would've gone crazy staying at home everyday.

She pulled out of their driveway and waved at him through their third story window. He saluted back with a grin.

But he was still Ben.

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Jackson." Ash said, catching up with him in the hall. Over the past two months they had grown from acquaintances to friends. Or more like she forced him into being friends with her. He was a lone wolf. Jackson seemed to prefer being alone most of the time, but Ash figured that was unhealthy and may be half of the cause to his gloominess.<p>

"Mornin'." He mumbled, lost in his thoughts.

He was probably thinking about his brother. Ash had coaxed him into telling her the whole story and found it heartbreaking, as a friend and as a doctor. She had tried telling him that he should move on, that it would cause less pain, but he would just ignore her concern. No matter, he was still her friend.

They walked down the hall towards the armory where they were scheduled to test the new EMD's. Along the way they came across Marcus Regozani. Ash remembered she had to talk to him about the paperwork for the last anomaly mission.

She stopped walking and to her surprise, so did Jackson. As she talked to Marcus she realized he was waiting for her. Maybe their friendship wasn't so unrequited.

The anomaly alert blared halfway through their conversation. Jackson gave her a look that clearly said 'let's go' before walking quickly towards the armory. Ash just rolled her eyes and jogged after him, Marcus not far behind.

_"Alright, minions." _Holland's voice could be heard clearly through their earpieces._ "What we've got today on this lovely morning is a 15 foot long, pissed off lizard, 'kay? Good news, there's only one. Bad news, the anomaly has closed. More bad news, it is impossible to restrain so under Becker's orders it's shoot to kill. Have fun, kiddies."_

"Shoot to kill?" Jackson checked his EMD's battery as Ash located her medical kit. "Then I'll definitely have fun."

* * *

><p>They arrived on the site -a half deserted gas station- with the others and immediately saw the dinosaur.<p>

"It's a Liliensternus." Kizzy said and received looks from the rest. "I've done my homework." She admitted.

Becker slammed his car door shut and walked past them, barely giving them a glance because he was too busy arguing with Abby.

"We can't kill it, Becker. Who knows what that might do!"

"I know what it _is_ going to do. And that's kill anyone that gets near it. We _can't_ let that happen and we can't let this thing get into town." He growled at her and then turned to the soldiers. "Shoot to kill. Divide yourselves up, I need half of you to clear these civilians." Becker headed towards Matt, Abby still protesting. Connor slipped out of the car and trailed after them quietly, as if not wanting to get involved.

Half of the rookie group split up to join the other soldiers in ushering people out of the area. The other half headed towards the veterans already firing at the Liliensternus. It seemed EMD's didn't do much but annoy it. They surrounded the creature and fired anyways.

Ash stood apart from them with her medical kit, hand gripping her EMD. She was field medic today but the EMD was for emergency purposes. Like now.

The prehistoric creature let out a rattled shriek as one of the EMD shots hit it's neck and charged towards a clump of soldiers. It lashed out suddenly, tearing at them.

"Set it on high." Becker shouted and fired a few shots from his EMD. The dinosaur was furious now. It shrieked again as one of Becker's shots hit it and whipped it's long tail, knocking down some gasoline containers spilling the dark liquid on the concrete.

Ash glanced at the soldiers that had been attacked by the Liliensternus, hoping that Jackson wasn't one of them. He wasn't but he was standing close by. Ash carefully darted in and around soldiers with her medical kit until she reached the wounded.

"How are we going to take it down?" She asked Jackson who was still firing away at the creature. Most of the shots missed, but the ones that hit hardly made much of an impact.

He didn't reply. She sighed and continued dressing wounds.

Ash noticed Becker watching from a distance, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought. He said something to Matt but the Irish man just shrugged and gestured to the soldiers. Becker said something in the other man's ear before firing a few shots at the creature. Abby was being restrained by Connor who was frantically telling her something, probably that it was best this way.

Suddenly the dinosaur's attention shifted from the soldiers to the gas attendant who had just noticed the commotion. The young man had headphones over his ears and a unlit cigarette in his mouth; just coming out of the building for a smoke. He dropped his lighter and ran, not realizing what he had dropped it in.

Ash blinked and soon the rear end of the car was on fire. She was about to tell everyone standing next to it to move, but Jackson had another idea. He dropped his EMD and sprinted to the car. She did something stupid after that.

She followed him.

Jackson got into the drivers seat just as Ash got in the passenger side.

"What the hell are you doing?" He glared at her.

"I'm coming with you." Ash said as confidently as possible.

Jackson glanced out of the window and saw many of his co-workers giving him frantic looks, a few shouting. "I'm planning on driving this into the -whatever Richards said. I know what's going to happen but we can't let that thing get out of here alive."

"There must be another way of doing this." Ash protested.

"Soon it's going to realize it doesn't have to stay here. It'll be harder _trying_ to restrain it in the city."

Ash bit her lip. "I'm with you."

"No you're not."

"I'm not getting out of this car."

"It's on fire."

"..."

Jackson gritted his teeth and stepped on the accelerator. Ash gripped the sides of her car seat tightly, her knuckles white. She glanced out the windshield and saw the dinosaur, looking as if it's wondering why they've stopped shooting at it and were instead shouting.

"You have a family, Harrison. A husband and a son." Jackson said quickly as the neared. "I didn't have anyone but my brother and he's...dead."

Ash didn't speak, but she thought about her family.

"Get out of the car, Ashlynn." He turned his head and looked at her, properly this time. He didn't look away, or roll his eyes, or scoff. Ashlynn could feel the tension or maybe that was just the heat of the fire that had made it's way to the backseat.

She kissed his cheek and opened the door. Then she jumped.

Ash hit the hard ground, wincing upon impact. She quickly scrambled to her feet and ran in the opposite direction the car was going. She didn't look back when she heard the crunch of metal, or the explosion of the car.

She just knew that if she stayed in the car for a few more moments, she would have broken her promise to Alex.

Once she knew she was at a safe distance did she turn around and collapse on the ground, tears in her eyes. The car was engulfed in fire and so was half of the Liliensternus. She felt someone pull her back, Becker from his voice, and she let him. Her legs were feeling numb anyways.

Smoking kills.

* * *

><p><strong>I don't know how practical this situation was but it was fun writing. I mean...sad... sad writing.<strong>


	14. Night: Lexi Carsons

****Sorry this one is so short, major writer's block -Danielle**

When Lexi was upset, she ran, ran until her legs could no longer carry her, until she could hardly breathe.

The news had been all over the ARC by the time they'd arrived. Jackson McKay had sacrificed himself to stop a creature. The ARC was somber, one of the girls on the day shift she'd heard, had had a near breakdown.

Lexi didn't know McKay well, but she remembered him from training. That was what was bugging her now, what had her running down the trails behind the ARC as fast as her legs would carry her, the fact that this job was already starting to pick them off, one by one.

Annie had lost her brother, Jackson was now gone…as much as she hated to admit it, it scared her.

"Lexi!" a voice called from behind her.

She stopped and turned, breathing heavily, to see Jason Mattison running towards her.

"Hey Jason," she said, crouching to catch her breath.

"I don't meet many girls who can outrun me," he gasped.

Lexi smirked, "If it makes you feel better, I didn't know you were there."

"I'm surprised, most women are very aware of my presence."

"Full of yourself aren't you?" she countered.

"Maybe a little," he replied.

"So did you flag me down for small talk or di…" she was cut off by the sound of the anomaly alert blaring in the distance, "Race you back," she grinned, taking off.

Jason chased after her, laughing, "Not fair, you had a head start!" he called.

"Who said anything about playing fair?" she taunted.

They skidded into the Ops Room, Jason just behind Lexi and almost running into her back. The rest of the group, along with Becker, Matt, Caspar and Abby were already there and turned to look at the noisy latecomers.

"Sorry, we were out running," Lexi mumbled.

"Anomaly, about five nautical miles out from the docks," Becker told them.

"Wait-wait, it's underwater?" Jason asked incredulously.

"Yes, now let's go," he said, ushering them to the armory to get their gear.

When they arrived at the anomaly site, Becker immediately started shouting orders.

"Smith, Chase, you're strong swimmers, you're in the water with me and Matt. Abby and Caspar, lookout from the front end, Mattison and Carsons back end."

Lexi followed Jason to the back end of the boat, staring over the railing. They heard the distinct splashes as the four team members jumped overboard and Lexi sighed. Staring over the railing until the creature was spotted, fun.

"When's your next day off?" Jason asked as they stared at the water.

She tilted her head in thought, " Tuesday, why?"

"I thought it was you who wasn't on the schedule too. Would you like to go for drinks with me?" he offered

Lexi was quiet for a moment, and just as she was about to answer, something jarred the boat, throwing her off balance. She stumbled backwards, only managing to stay on her feet when Jason grabbed her waist to steady her.

"We have something down here!" she yelled through her coms.

"What is it?" Caspar replied, and she could tell he was already moving towards them.

"I don't know, I think it's under the boat, it's big though," she said, going to stare back over the railing.

As she watched, the four team members who'd gone to find the anomaly surfaced.

"Did you see it?" Jason called.

"See what?" Maria asked confused.

Lexi cursed under her breath, "The creature, it's under the boat!" she yelled, watching the other four members go on alert.

"Make your way back to the boat as quickly as possible, no sudden movements," Becker commanded.

Lexi and Jason helped Matt back on board, then Maria, they'd just reached down to take Becker's equipment, when Alexis' ear piercing scream reached their ears.

"It has my foot!" she cried, thrashing wildly.

Becker dove in and swam towards her without a second thought. The group watched in horror as both disappeared under the water. Lexi stepped up onto the railing, trying to get a better view.

"Come on, come on, where are you?" she whispered.

"Anything?" Matt asked.

Lexi shook her head, "No, nothing, I can't see anything."

They waited, all holding their breath.

"Wait, there," she said, pointing as something darted across the water, just under the surface.

Then there was red lacing the water, blood, someone was hurt, or worse… They waited, for some sign of who it was, for someone to surface. Finally they did, one of the figures supporting the other.

As they got closer they could tell the person being supported was Alexis. Jason and Matt helped to get her on the boat, and Becker passed off his equipment to Lexi as he clambered on.

"A harpoon gun, nice," she commented, "So I take it the blood was the creatures?"

"Yes, it's dead. Alexis should be fine, her ankle's pretty torn up, but Joseph should have her back on her feet in no time."

Joseph Noir, was the ARC's head medic, he was very quiet, had an obsession with chocolate, but was excellent at his job.

"Matt, I need you to come with me, we're going to have to get that creature back through," Becker said.

They put their diving gear back on and Matt grabbed the sealer and put it in it's waterproof enclosure, before diving back after Becker. Ten minutes later they resurfaced and they headed back to the ARC. They'd managed to secure Alexis' ankle as best as possible, and Matt and Becker carried her straight to the medical bay when they arrived.

Lexi paused as they reached the locker room, turning to Jason.

"Yes, I'll have drinks with you," she said before going inside.


	15. Day: Marcus Regozani

****Danielle here again, Squabble's had a lot going on with school, so I wrote this chapter as well ****J**

Marcus Regozani pulled Lieutenant Johnson to his feet for the fourth time and sighed. He needed a better person to spar with, someone who was actually a challenge. A master in teakwondo, it was hard for him to find someone with that ability. Jackson McKay had been the only one on the day shift to come close.

Marcus had been competitive since he was a child, he was also aggressive and wasn't afraid to go after what he wanted. The aggressive nature was what had gotten him here, it had given him the extra push he needed in his military career. Truthfully, it had also been the cause of a few setbacks early on, he'd been a bit too aggressive and been reprimanded for it more than once. In his first year of training, it had almost gotten him discharged.

_Marcus glared back at his commanding officer, listening disinterestedly as he yelled at him for yet another fight he'd been involved in. The man had had it coming, he had been a pompous, arrogant ass to everyone since the first day._

"_Are you listening to me Regozani?" Major Ryans yelled, getting in his face._

"_Yes, sir," he growled, not liking having the man in his personal space._

_Major Ryans stepped in closer, trying to intimidate and Marcus pushed back on him. Being a Major, he stood his ground, not letting Marcus get the upper hand and instinct took over and Marcus punched him._

He had been more than surprised when it had been Major Ryans who had recommended against a dishonorable discharge, saying his abilities were too good to be wasted. It had put a lot in perspective for him and he'd managed to curve his anger in most cases, taking it out on punching bags and sparring matches.

He'd spent hours in the gym after Jackson's death, taking out his frustrations and his fears. Looking around the room, it was obvious, they were all shaken by what had happened. No one had taken it as bad as Ashlynn Harrison, who had been diagnosed as "in shock" by Joseph and given two days leave to recover.

Marcus headed into the locker room to change after his training session, showering and putting the black fatigues back on. He'd barely finished when the alert blared, he sighed and headed to the Ops Room.

The tension in the air was thick as he entered. No surprise, it was the first alert since McKay's death. Ashlynn was tenser than anyone.

"Shopping mall," Jess said, "Evacuation has been ordered, so it should be cleared by the time you arrive. There is an incursion, Aelurodon, they're carnivores. There are two of them…and there have been four fatalities already," she said, shifting through the cameras.

The team took off, grabbing black boxes as they went.

"Be careful!" Jess called after them.

"Always Jess, always," Becker smiled, following after them.

Marcus laughed, he didn't really do relationships, but even he had to admit the Captain was an emotional idiot and wonder what it would take for him to wake up.

When they reached the mall the team was split up, Marcus with Ashlynn, Connor Temple and Captain Becker. The four headed to the west end of the mall, the only sounds present were the sounds of the four teammates' footsteps.

They reached a split and Becker turned to them, "Harrison, you're with me. Temple with Regozani."

They split off and headed left, Marcus silent, EMD raised in front of him.

"You're one of those strong silent types like Becker aren't ya?" Connor asked.

Marcus raised an eyebrow, "Is that some sort of come on?"

"What! No! I'm with Abby and very, very straight. Just making an observation."

"Well then, yes, I suppose so," he replied.

"Are all soldiers like that?" he rambled on, "Most of the ones I've met are. A couple of the ones I met aren't…"

Marcus suddenly understood Becker's frustration with the computer tech. It was profoundly hard to listen for creatures with his ramblings. Suddenly a strangled yelp caused him to spin around.

Connor was on the ground, pinned by a snarling Aelurodon. Connor was flailing madly, his arm movements blocking Marcus' shot.

"Temple, stay still," he growled, but the man was too hysterical to listen.

New plan time. Marcus gauged his chances with getting the creature off of him, it was probably just over one hundred pounds. Marcus threw the EMD, sending it clattering to the ground several feet away. It worked, the Aleurodon taking off towards the sound.

"Alright?" Marcus asked quickly, glancing at Connor.

"Yeah, just got my shoulder."

Marcus nodded and headed towards the creature, heedless of being unarmed. The creature turned on him and leapt. Marcus ducked and grabbed the creature by the midsection, narrowly avoiding its claws and threw it into a nearby wall. He was running on pure adrenaline, trying to keep him and Connor alive and unable to get to either EMD.

He heard Connor calling over the coms for backup. The creature got back to it's feet and headed towards him again. This time, he jumped and placed a well aimed round house kick into it's jaw, sending it reeling backwards.

Finally he reached the EMD, picking it up quickly, he turned it on the creature, firing twice until the Aelurodon fell unconscious.

"Nice work minion," Holland's voice rang from behind him.

Marcus just turned and stared at him, "Nice timing, you're going to want to get a medic for Connor, and they're going to want a new wall," he said motioning behind him.

He looked around and saw a scarf in a window display and quickly ran in and grabbed it, going over and wrapping Connor's shoulder.

"Hang in there, medics are on the way," he assured him.

"ETA five minutes," Holland called over.

"Great. Have they found the other creature?" he called back.

"Found and sent back through. I have some soldiers coming to handle this one now."

Marcus nodded and slumped back against the wall.

"That was fun," he muttered quietly.


	16. Night: Joshua Clemings

****So this is a bit different than normal, I decided to show his life outside the ARC for a change.**

_He stared on horror struck as the building went up in flames. A daycare, why the hell would someone suicide bomb a daycare! There was no hope for anyone inside, that was obvious…then he heard the screams._

"_Daddy, help me!"_

_Marcus would know that voice anywhere…Katelyn. But how was his daughter inside…why? He tore through the crowd, running past his fellow soldiers to get to her. Someone grabbed him and held him back._

"_Josh, it's too late."_

"_No! Katelyn's in there! I have to get her!" he cried._

Sergeant Joshua Clemings woke with a start, a cold sweat trickling down his neck. The nightmare had been so real…Well technically it was real, or the bombing at the daycare had been, and he'd really been there, but it had been in Iraq 19 years ago.

He sat up and eased himself off the bed, careful not to wake his wife, Paula. He left the bedroom and walked down the hall to Katelyn's bedroom, opening the door quietly. She was curled up with her teddy bear fast asleep. He could see that she'd taped her birthday cards above her small desk and smiled. It was hard to believe she was already eight.

He shut her door and went to Rebecca's room next. She lay on her bed, listening to her IPOD and reading. Upon his entrance, she glanced up and removed her ear buds.

"Hey dad," she smiled.

"What are you still doing up?" he asked.

"Couldn't sleep, I'm nervous about tomorrow."

"You're going to be fine, don't worry," he assured her.

"What if I make an idiot of myself and mess up?" she worried.

"Rebecca, you will be brilliant. You're receiving the Queen's Medal, I couldn't be more proud of you."

She smiled and hugged her father, "Thanks dad."

"No problem, Second Lieutenant Clemings."

"That sounds weird," she laughed.

"Well get used to it, because after tomorrow that's your new title," he said, kissing her forehead, "Now get some sleep, I'll see you in the morning."

He went back to the bedroom and lay down next to his wife.

"Everything okay?" she asked sleepily.

"Yeah, fine, I was just talking to Rebecca, she's nervous about tomorrow."

"Is she okay now?"

"Yeah, she was going to sleep when I left."

The following morning was hectic, Rebecca left early, having to be at Sandhurst for a final run through of the day's events. Paula was on the phone confirming a delivery of flowers to the school for Rebecca, and Joshua was running around looking for his cufflinks.

He stopped and ran a hand through his black, curly hair. Where had he put them? Just then his cell phone rang and he fished it from his pocket.

"Sergeant Clemings," he answered.

It was his brother Jon calling to double check the time of the ceremony. They spoke for a few minutes before he hung up. Turning he saw Katelyn sitting on the floor, making one of her dolls dance on a black square box.

"Katelyn, are those my cufflinks?" he asked.

"Yes," she said sheepishly, "I needed a stage for my doll."

He smiled, "Can I get my cufflinks out and then you can have it back?"

Katelyn handed him the cufflinks and he attached them to the sleeves of his dress uniform. Before he knew it they were out the door.

When they arrived at the school they were directed to where the audience seating was and Josh took Paula's hand in one and Katelyn's in the other, weaving through the crowd.

"Sergeant Clemings!" his brow furrowed as he heard the chipper voice behind him.

He turned and saw Jess Parker walking towards them, trailed by Captain Becker and Second Lieutenant Caspar.

"Jess!" Katelyn cried, running forwards and hugging the field coordinator.

In the time he'd been at the ARC, he'd ended up adopting Jess Parker as a second sister of sorts. He hadn't expected her to come, but at the same time wasn't surprised she had. His commanding officers' presence however, surprised him.

He hugged Jess and then offered a salute to the two men.

"Captain Becker, Second Lieutenant Caspar, it's nice to see you."

Becker and Caspar nodded, Becker speaking first. "Sergeant Clemings, I hear congratulations are in order. Your daughter's managed quite a feat."

Joshua smiled. "She has, we're very proud of her."

"You should be, Sandhurst isn't an easy school and to be receiving the Queen's Medal is impressive," Caspar said.

"Yes, it is, she's grown into an amazing young woman." Clemings replied, before catching sight of his wife's confused expression. "Oh, this is my wife, Paula and my daughter Katelyn. Paula, Katelyn, this is Captain Becker and Second Lieutenant Caspar, my commanding officers."

Becker shook Paula's hand, followed by Caspar and offered a rare smile to Katelyn.

"Not that you're not more than welcome…but I'm a bit surprised to see the two of you here," he added.

"One of the best times to check out possible recruits," Becker said, shifting slightly.

"Ah, of course. Shall we find seats?"

They all headed inside, Jess falling into step beside him,

"How's Rebecca doing?" she asked.

"Nervous, but she'll be brilliant."

"Of course she will," Jess smiled, before lowering her voice, "And don't let those two fool you, they're here because this is such a major thing for you and your family. Sort of falls in the whole soldier brotherhood thing."

Josh smiled, it seemed his family had just gotten bigger.


	17. Day: Vikki Lovell

**A/N: Back for now. This takes place back at Jackson's funeral. **

* * *

><p><em>She sat on one of the two regal looking armchairs, one leg crossed over the other, one hand tapping the armrest. A woman with her hair done up in a bun sat in the second chair across from her with a clip board and pen occupying her hands. The woman made her self more comfortable before speaking.<em>

_"Hello, Ms. Lovell. Let's start by telling me what happened." She tapped the blue lid of the pen on the clipboard and waited for Vikki to speak._

_Vikki waited for a minute, gathering her thoughts. "We were in Iraq. We as in me and..." She choked slightly and covered her mouth, taking in a deep breath. "Me and Shane."_

_Her therapist began writing and Vikki was surprised that the pen wrote in black. Little things... "That's how we met. We became best friends in two months. There was nothing romantic between us though, just friends." Which she regretted. No one knew this, especially him, but during those two months she had managed to fall in love with Shane. Head over heels for him._

_The woman across from her just nodded and made a hand motion for her to continue._

_"It was a Thursday, I think. When we were ambushed. He was next to me when..." Vikki took off her purple glasses and wiped her eyes. She stared aimlessly at the tiled floor. _

_"When...?" Her therapist looked up at her from the notes she was taking. _

_"He was next to me when he was shot." Vikki concluded, swallowing thickly. "He died almost instantly... and that's it."_

_The therapist wrote for a few minutes before looking at her. "I think you have PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's nothing to be ashamed of, many soldiers go through it. It'll take a bit of time for you to recover, but nonetheless you will. You'll get over it."_

* * *

><p>Vikki looked at Ashlynn and wondered if she felt the same way Vikki had all those years ago. She wondered if Ashlynn, the nice quiet field medic that she ate lunch with everyday, would develop PTSD.<p>

After the service ended she walked over to the doctor who was standing in front of the headstone, sadly looking down at it.

Vikki wasn't at all close to Jackson. No one really was. He liked to keep to himself most of the time. The only person that actually got through to him was Ashlynn.

They stood next together for some time before Vikki spoke. "I'm sorry."

Ashlynn wiped a tear from her left eye and nodded numbly. "It wasn't your fault."

"Things will get better." But it hadn't for her. Whenever she thought of Shane sadness washed over her immediately.

"Of course they will."

They were silent once again for several minutes. A older man approached them, eyes sad. He didn't say anything but both women guessed that he was Jackson's father.

Vikki moved away so he could stand next to Ashlynn to observe the headstone. She noticed him say something to her and Ashlynn raised her hand showing him her ring. He nodded solemnly and that was the end of that.

She turned around and the first thing she saw was Becker. A woman, just as old as the man, was crying and was talking to him in tearful bursts. He had one hand on her arm and was speaking quietly, probably feeding her some lie on her son's death.

Vikki walked past him and went to look for Maxwell or Colin through the black clad bodies. She finally spotted Maxwell hanging around Evelyn. Everyone knew he had a massive crush on her and rumours had it that she liked him as well. Rumours.

So instead of going to him she went to Colin who was standing alone by one of the black Mitsubishi's. He was staring at his feet when she arrived and it took a tap to his head for him to acknowledge her presence.

"Oh...hi..." He stammered and blushed slightly.

Vikki responded softly. "Hello."

Colin shuffled slightly and looked uncomfortably towards the head stone. Everyone knew Colin and Jackson never got on. It was usually Jackson shoving Colin into something whenever he had the chance. Vikki had told Colin to try and stand up to him but he never did. It wouldn't matter now.

They stood in a awkward silence which was broken when the first drop landed on the bridge of Colin's nose.

"It's raining." He stated lamely thus creating another awkward silence. Several droplets started to fall now in intervals of several seconds. Soon enough it was a light drizzle.

How dramatic, Vikki thought. It was raining during a funeral. It seemed people were prepared, they had their black umbrellas opened up in no time. Black umbrellas. It was the complete opposite when Shane died. It was a clear summer day and the sun was shining.

She could tell Colin was nervous about something. He swallowed thickly while looking anywhere but at Vikki. His hands were tapping a quick rhythm against his leg and every now and then there was a soft sigh. She could practically hear his heart beating as fast as a rabbit's.

Knowing something was up, a slight-possibly-off guess as to what that 'something' was, she decided to ask him. Just as she opened her mouth he bursted out.

"There's something I have to -er- tell you. S-Something important...ish... That you should know!" He blushed again and took in a deep breath.

Vikki fell silent and she watched his nervous movements carefully.

"Um...I know this isn't really a good time to say it. But... He told me I should sometime soon and this is soon and we're both available at the moment..." Colin took in another deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Vikki. I...I..." He fumbled for words and looked back at the ground.

"I know." Vikki took a slow step forwards and leaned up to kiss him. She felt him pause but eventually he kissed back, awkwardly placing his hands on her waist. After what seemed like an eternity they broke apart. Colin was blushing beet red.

"A-actually... I was going to... to ask you if you wanted to come with Max and me to the cinema." He stammered and ran a hand through his hair. "But this is fine. Better than fine..." He offered her his signature dimpled smile and her hard, steel enforced wall broke. She couldn't help but smile back.

A thought of Shane crossed her mind for a moment, but Vikki blocked it out. _He's not here anymore,_ Vikki thought. _But Colin is._

Becker's voice made them jump back, startled.

"Alright, we have work to do. There's been another..." Becker glanced over at Jackson's family briefly. "_Incident._" He brushed past the pair without giving them a second glance, mobile to his ear.

Vikki exchanged glances with Colin before following after him. They walked briskly, hand in hand, after the Captain. She looked over her shoulder and spotted Ash lagging behind, eyes red rimmed.

Somethings you need to leave in the past. It isn't easy, but somehow you will move on.


	18. Night: Alexis Chase

****A huge thanks to my sister vampireluvr15 for cowriting with me. I got writers block so she helped out**

Alexis Chase lay the single red rose in front of the headstone, before rising back to her feet.

"Happy Birthday Oliver," she said quietly.

Glancing at her watch she realized she'd been there for over an hour and was due at the ARC soon. It was only when she got into the warmth of her car that she realized she was freezing. It was raining, and the rain had soaked through her black uniform.

It had been seven years since her best friend, Oliver James, was killed in front of her. Gunned down as they walked home from school together. She visited the gravesite every year at his birthday and on the anniversary of his death.

When she reached the ARC, she headed inside and straight for the shooting range. It was already occupied by a couple soldiers and the ARC's field medic, Daniel Hunt. The soldiers were occupying the main target range, but she wanted the smaller one in the back used for archery.

She was pretty sure she and Daniel were the only ones who ever used it, most of the soldiers preferring fire arms.

"Evening Daniel," she said with a small smile.

"Alexis," he nodded, glancing at her. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you kind of have a drowned rat look going for you."

She laughed softly. "I was outside for an hour…it was raining," she explained weakly.

Daniel raised an eyebrow but didn't comment, something Alexis was thankful of. She didn't really want to go into where she'd been and what had happened seven years ago. It

was hard enough to remember, even harder to talk about.

Time passed slowly that day, especially without an anomaly to keep her preoccupied, without the adrenaline it offered to keep her mind from dwelling on past events. She bade farewell to the other soldiers and nodded in greeting to the ones coming in for the next shift. She got in her car and let her hair out of the ponytail it almost always remained in, trying to release some strain on her scalp in hopes that her headache would pass. Every birthday and anniversary was like this, leaving her emotionally - and as a result, physically - drained.

An hour later and a change of clothes found her at a pub downtown. She sat at the bar, her dark hair falling over her shoulder and shrouding her face in a curtain of dark brown as she took a sip of her drink. It was a nice establishment; not overly posh but definitely not low-class or trashy. The music playing wasn't too bad either.

"Want another, darling?" asked the bartender.

She looked down at her empty glass with a sigh. "Hell, why not."

He made her another strawberry daiquiri and sat it down in front of her and surprised her by leaning against his side of the bar instead of bustling off to tend to the other patrons, though she noticed there were few others at the bar. "You look like you've had one hell of a day."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Her sarcasm got ten times worse on a bad day.

His green eyes twinkled a bit as he chuckled. "Consider that one on me."

"Thanks."

He went off to refill a burly man's Scotch, leaving her to stare blankly at a wall. That is, until her view was blocked by him once more, his elbows propped on the bar. She sighed and looked up at him. He was actually quite good looking, with sea green eyes and floppy light blond hair. And judging from the way he looked at her and the crooked grin he sported, he was interested in her.

"So tell me about this job of yours."

She peered at him over the rim of her glass. "Why do you want to know?"

"Let's say I'm curious."

"Let's say my job's top secret and I can't tell you about it."

"Ooh, intriguing. Government job then?"

"You could call it that."

He flashed another grin at her, and she found herself blushing a bit. She always got shy around guys she took a liking to, and this one with his charming smile and direct approach had her a little frayed. She took another sip of her drink to stall, hoping the dim lighting didn't reveal how flushed her face had become under his stare. Thankfully he didn't seem to notice or was grinning from satisfaction of eliciting a reaction.

"Ever considered a normal job?" he asked. By this point they were nearly alone at the bar.

"No…not really. My mom put me in ballet lessons when I was a little girl, but even then I ended up in archery. And I guess…"

"What?"

"Never mind."

He leaned closer, eyes boring into hers. "Tell me."

"It's just that my best friend, Oliver, died seven years ago exactly as of today. We were going to go into the military together, and I guess what I do now is to honor his memory."

The conversation got progressively lighter from there, which she was thankful of.

Surprisingly enough he even made her laugh a few times. She learned that his name was Tyler after introducing herself, and one more drink turned into another, then another, and so on and so forth. She had no idea how they ended up leaning against her father's 1967 Impala after Tyler's shift, but it was late into the night as they sat on the hood talking about nothing and everything.

But when she felt his hand inching up her leg, she placed hers on his to still it. "I'm sorry, but…it wouldn't feel right. Not on the anniversary of a death."

"I understand, Alexis." His words were sincere, but he looked a little put out.

She got off the hood of the car and fished her keys out of the pocket of her jeans. "It was great meeting you Tyler, but I think I should be getting home."

He took the hint for what it was, easing off as well. "Maybe I'll see you around here again sometime."

"Maybe." She smiled and squeezed his shoulder in silent thanks for giving her such a great night and not pushing the sex thing. "Goodnight Tyler."

His lips raised into the crooked grin from earlier in the night. "Goodnight Alexis."

He turned and started walking across the parking lot, and she unlocked her car. It had been awhile since she'd met a guy and just talked. Ever since her breakup with her boyfriend Aiden six months ago, she'd kept herself closely guarded save for some one night stands that had taken place on some really bad days. But Tyler was sweet, charming, and didn't ask for what she didn't want to give. It was refreshing.

She was sliding behind the wheel and about to pull her door closed when she heard his voice call out to her. "And…Alexis?"

"Yeah?"

She could barely make out his form in the dark, barely lit parking lot. "Going into the line of work that you did…was it worth it?"

Jackson's death, people screaming in fear of creatures, the secrecy of being part of the ARC…all of it flashed in her mind's eye as she considered that question. Finally, she spoke again. "Yeah…it was."


End file.
